


Please Stand Clear of the Cast Member

by sunshinesoraa



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Bottom Sora (Kingdom Hearts), But there's also smut later and I'm not sorry, Cast Member! Sora, Disney please don't come for me, First Time, Kairi’s a lightweight, Lovesick Riku, M/M, Modern AU, Phone Sex, Riku calls Sora princess omg, Riku figures out how to communicate his feelings, Riku is high key obsessed with Mickey Mouse, Riku’s in love and he doesn’t care who knows it, This is USDA organic fluff, Top Riku (Kingdom Hearts), VERY subtle namixi, We're pretending Florida doesn't exist, disney world au, falling in love way too fast, needy Sora, no beta we die like men, this is a copyright nightmare and i'm broke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:15:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25522717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinesoraa/pseuds/sunshinesoraa
Summary: "The park's closing in ten. Wanna go make out on Soarin'?"or,Riku, forced to visit Disney World on a bachelorette trip for his best friend Kairi, meets a cast member at their resort that changes things for a pessimistic-about-love Riku.
Relationships: Kairi/Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé/Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 79
Kudos: 148





	1. Please Stand Clear of the Cast Member

Please Stand Clear of the Cast Member

(mantengase alejado de los miembros del reparto)

__________________________________________________________________

_Here you leave today_

_And enter the world_

_Of yesterday, tomorrow_

_And fantasy_

Hi, welcome! Thank you for reading _Please Stand Clear of the Cast Member!_

I decided to put my severe love of Soriku and my extensive knowledge of Disney World to use with this AU! You can find a park guide at the beginning of every day that highlights the map and a playlist for that day! The playlists items are in order of appearance in the story, so keep that in mind when listening/watching them! The playlist for each day can be found in the chapter notes at the beginning. They are 1000000% optional, though!

I had so much fun writing this, as I am missing Disney so very much during this time away due to coronavirus. 

This story is _COMPLETED_ , I am just choosing to upload it a chapter at a time, hopefully a few days apart, so I can properly edit it. It is rated explicit as there is some smut in a future chapter.

If you’ve never been to Disney World, enjoy this taste of the journey, and if you have, enjoy the trip down memory lane!

Have a magical time! ~


	2. Day One | Thanks For Riding With Us, and Welcome Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day One Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwPSG_mKWrBW0CggH5YOsIHtv9REbSrZ
> 
> 1\. Mickey Mouse Club March (Kairi and Xion sing it!)  
> 2\. Beautiful Soul (Kairi and Xion sing this, too!)  
> 3\. Safety Instructions for Airline  
> 4\. Brief Explanation of MagicBands (if you don’t know)  
> 5\. Disney Transportation message (listen for monologue @ 17:23)  
> 6\. Disney’s Pop Century Music (they play this in the background of the resort lobby)  
> 7\. Tour of the Pop Century Lobby (important if you’ve never been there!)  
> 8\. Monorail from Contemporary to Magic Kingdom  
> 9\. Please Stand Clear of the Doors

  


**Day One  
** **Thanks for Riding with Us, and Welcome Home**

Until the day that Kairi announced to Riku that she was engaged, Riku hadn’t considered the fact that he had never been in love. And now here she was at his apartment, auburn hair tied back with a ribbon, mascara trails running down her cheeks.

“Engaged?”

“Yes!” she held her hand out, the stone on her finger staring back at him, and she gushed, “Riku, I’ve never _been_ so in love.” She launched towards him, happy tears wetting his shirt, and he thought, _huh._

_What must that feel like?_

Riku wasn’t really the hopeless romantic type. He never had been. The most romantic thing he did all year was for Kairi. Every Valentine’s Day, he worked up the courage to walk into the store and get flowers for her, ignoring the coos from girls and old ladies. He’d leave the flowers on her doorstep, running away before she could open the door, (to avoid her tirade of affection). Riku had been Kairi’s best friend since they were in diapers. They were in school together, went to prom together, got their licenses together, their first boyfriends.

And now here she was, twenty-three, and getting married. Riku could hardly believe it. It had been four years of dating, but Vanitas finally proposed to her six months ago, and now, she was about to get married in three weeks. Riku liked Vanitas well enough. Vanitas practically _worshipped_ Kairi, and just _tolerated_ everyone else. Of course, no one would ever be good enough for Kairi in Riku’s eyes, but she loved him, and that’s all that really mattered. Riku didn’t understand the whole ordeal though. He’d never really pictured himself getting married. Shit, he’d never really pictured himself in a long-term relationship at all.

He didn’t date in high school, and afterwards, Riku had one or two small flings and the rest of the time it was mostly one-night stands and missed connections. The few boys he’d dated after high school didn’t work out, even though he really wanted them to. It always went the same way- they’d develop feelings for him, and he’d go along with it until he had to eventually tell them he didn’t feel the same. Wasn’t there supposed to be spark? Wasn’t he supposed to be ready to die for them? Riku wasn’t in the business of breaking hearts, so for now, he was on his own.

Riku figured that maybe he was too picky, or he just hadn’t met anyone his type _,_ but he didn’t even know if he had a type at all. Kairi didn’t care about that, though. Kairi was always trying to hook him up with someone. “I met a cute guy today on my way home from work! I think you’d really like him!” she’d wink, and Riku would roll his eyes and tell her, “I’m _fine,_ Kairi,” before kissing her on the forehead just to get her to stop pouting. He knew that her erratic matchmaking came from a genuine place; he knew she wanted him to be happy, but he _was_ happy. At least, he thought he was.

So, the whole idea of a wedding, and all the planning and the parties and the work that came with one was a foreign concept to him. It seemed like too much, really. But Kairi ate it up. She spent all her mornings flipping through bridal magazines and picking out color swatches and watching those trashy wedding shows on Netflix. She’d rush up to Riku and hold this or that in front of him: maybe two different colored shirts and a flower, just to see what looked right. “Would you like to wear grey or black?” she’d ask, and Riku would shrug,

“I don’t really care, whatever you want.”

“Vanitas wants to wear black,” she told him, looking back and forth between the two different colored tuxes.  
“Then I’ll wear black.” _What does it matter, Kairi?_

Weeks turned into months, and the wedding was getting closer. Two months after Vanitas proposed, Kairi, Riku, Xion and Naminé were all sitting on the living room floor of Kairi’s apartment, putting together bridal shower decorations. Riku had been assigned to curl ribbons, (after being shown how to do it about a hundred times before he got it right). “Riku, honestly,” Naminé would scold, taking the scissors from him and demonstrating. “Like _this.”_ Both sides of the scissors looked the same, how was he supposed to know which one made them curl?

Xion, Naminé, and Riku were the best things in Kairi’s life, so it only made sense that when she was figuring out what to do for her bachelorette party, that she included the three of them. Riku didn’t mind that he was the only guy: they were a lot more fun to hang out with than Kairi’s other dude friends, and he truly liked Naminé and Xion. He’d hung out with Axel and Saïx a few times, but Axel was a little too loud, and Saix had a perpetual look of disapproval on his face that made Riku uneasy.

Kairi met Naminé and Xion her first year in college when they were all in the same sorority, and a few weeks later, they met Riku. Riku had gone to school for engineering about forty-five minutes away from where Kairi and Riku grew up. Kairi opted to stay closer to home. Riku’s first return home was for Thanksgiving, where Kairi was so eager for Riku to meet her new friends. Riku was skeptical at first, but soon found he was unable to resist them once they did finally meet. Xion showed up wearing black, head-to-toe, and Naminé tended to wear all white. Their opposing personalities intrigued Riku. They’d all been pretty close friends sense then.

They complemented each other. Xion was the rebel, of course. Always making horrible jokes, dragging them out in the middle of the night, the last one to arrive anywhere. Riku couldn’t imagine her being part of a sorority as she was always wearing dark colors and her hair was usually a million different colors, but she claimed, “the housing situation was unmatched!” Naminé was the sweetest: she was too good for any of them, really. So kind, so gentle, so willing to help everyone. Riku was sure that she’d made half of the wedding decorations herself.

Riku didn’t really have guy friends. He didn’t really have _any_ other friends now that he thought about it. Maybe it was because he always came off as stoic and hard to approach. It didn’t bother him though. He had been on his own for most of his life, apart from Kairi who was determined to keep him around no matter what. She thought too highly of him, in Riku’s opinion.

He had been the one to suggest the idea originally. Kairi wanted to do something _different_ for her bachelorette party. “It’s just, the regular old party or bar hopping is so _old,”_ she said, wincing when the hot glue gun burned her finger. “Ow.”

“What about the piano bar?” Naminé asked.

“So that we can watch Axel perform drag for the millionth time? No thanks,” Xion snorted.

“We could go somewhere,” Riku said. “Like, for the weekend?”

“Like where?” Naminé dropped another ribbon in her pile, and Riku compared her hundreds to his ten ribbons.  
“Well, my aunt went to Disney World for her bachelorette party,” he said absentmindedly. He wasn’t trying to suggest that _they_ did that but…

“That’s _perfect!”_ Kairi said, standing from where she was writing addresses on invitations. “Besides, Riku’s obsessed with Mickey Mouse! He’ll love that!”

“I am not,” Riku spat. He _did_ have a Mickey Mouse case on his phone right now, but that wasn’t important. It must have been less than 24 hours and Kairi had already made reservations for the four of them, a whole week, in Walt Disney World.

It had been years since Riku had been to Disney. He used to go with his family when he was a kid but hadn’t been in at least ten years. At first, the idea was just _fine,_ it was something he was doing for Kairi’s sake, but he slowly found himself actually become excited about the prospect, so when he laid in bed the night before, he couldn’t sleep.

Kairi was knocking on his door before he’d even opened his eyes. The door to his bedroom swung open. “Guys, don’t-“ Naminé tried to stop them, but it was too late. Kairi and Xion jumped on Riku’s bed, bouncing up and down on the mattress. “Sorry,” Naminé yawned. “I tried.”  
“It’s time to get up, Riku! We’re going to Disney World!”

“No way, I had no idea,” he mumbled into his pillow. “What time is it?”

“Three in the morning!” Xion said, both of the girls flopping down next to Riku. “Get up!”

Naminé laughed, joining them on the bed, crawling on top of Riku’s back. “You _guys,”_ Riku coughed. _“I want to be able to live long enough to make it there.”_

He finally convinced Naminé to take them downstairs so he could get his shit together. If he had been the one to book the flight, he _never_ would have made it this early. Naminé slept with her head against the window the whole way to the airport. If Riku hadn’t offered to drive, he would’ve done the same. But there was something comforting about driving in the middle of the night before the rest of the world was awake. Something comforting about knowing you were about to go on a vacation with your best friends, so Riku just smiled sleepily when Kairi chatted on about everything they were going to do.

Riku couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten up this early. It was five in the morning when they arrived at the terminal: the sun hadn’t even begun to rise yet. And here he was, towing three girls and a bunch of luggage to the airport. _“Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me?”_ Kairi swung her bag back and forth, skipping on the sidewalk beside the shuttle. Xion popped her head out of the door and continued: “M-I-C-K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!” Riku pulled Naminè’s suitcase from the backseat, handing it to her. She smiled. “Thanks.”

Naminé and Riku, who were definitely not morning people, simply stared at Kairi and Xion as they paraded around like they’d been awake for hours, (they had). Kairi continued her singing and dancing, taking Xion by the hand and having her skip around.

“Guys, we gotta get checked in or we’re gonna miss our flight,” Riku reminded.

“Aw, don’t be such a party pooper, Riku.” Kairi stuck her tongue out at him, and he flicked her off in response. She laughed.

It took roughly forty-five minutes to get through security. Riku got searched because he tended to look like trouble on the outside, (when Xion realistically should’ve been the one they worried about). The four of them sat on plastic chairs by the gate, eating cinnamon rolls and drinking coffee. The warmth spread throughout his chest, both due to the caffeine and also because he usually forgot how much he loved his best friends until they were beside him.

At seven, they boarded the plane. “Maybe it’s best if you two sit together,” Riku said, pushing Xion and Kairi into the adjacent row. Naminé took the window seat, pressing her nose against the plastic to look out on to the tarmac. Xion and Kairi were listening to Jesse McCartney, singing to each other, animating the lyrics back and forth through hand gestures. Naminé tapped on Riku’s shoulder.

“Here you go,” she said, handing Riku a pack of earplugs.

“Oh God, thank you.”

Kairi’s sticky icing hands pointed at other planes taking off, and Naminé read her guide she’d purchased on Disney World. Riku leaned his head back on the seat, listening to the girls’ excited chattering back and forth. The engines turned on, the deafening white noise filling the cabin.

He was excited, too, he just didn’t feel like admitting it.

The plane had barely landed and Xion was already dragging him off of it.

The air right off the plane was _hot: j_ ust walking down the jetway, Riku could feel the humidity. He was suddenly wishing he’d gotten a haircut before they left.

“Kairi, you got a hair tie?” he asked, trying to pull away from Xion’s hand.  
“Uh, always!” she dug around in her purse for a minute before pulling out a singular stray scrunchie. “Ta da!”

“Thanks.” He took the pink velvet scrunchie from her, pulling back his hair. He was a thousand percent sure he looked ridiculous, but it was so hot outside he didn’t care. Once they walked out of the sliding doors, it only got worse. So, maybe long sleeves weren’t the best idea?

Disney had its own bus service that took you from the airport to the property. Riku helped the driver load their bags underneath the coach, while the girls ran ahead of him. The bus driver was eccentric, which he supposed you had to be if you were shuttling busses full of families back and forth from Disney. It hadn’t really hit Riku until they were finally on property, and they passed underneath the large sign signaling that this was real, they were here.

Kairi looked so happy she might cry. “Riku, look!” she shook him, pointing out the window. Getting up so early was worth seeing the tears of happiness in Kairi’s eyes. He was so lucky to get to take this journey with her. He had never realized how _large_ Disney World was. It was practically its own state. It had its own road signs.

The automated voice rang overtop of their heads.

_Ladies and gentlemen, this is Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Please collect your belongings, watch your head and step as you disembark, and take small children by the hand. Thanks for riding with us, and welcome home._

The air in every corner of Disney was _intoxicating._ The inside of the resort smelled like pineapple and chlorine and summer. For once, he didn’t mind the multitudes of little kids running around, or the large crowds of people. He was at _Disney World._

“Riiiiiiiiku, can you check in please?” Kairi begged, leaning on her suitcase. “We wanna go look around!”

Riku shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Fine.”

“Thank you!” she smiled, kissing him on the cheek. All three girls pushed their suitcases towards him and started running down the lobby.  
“H-hey, wait! You can’t just leave me with all this stuff… oh, forget it.” 

Luckily, they all rolled well on their own, so he just kicked them along the queue. He looked ridiculous, one dude towing four suitcases. The line moved forward, and Riku tried to efficiently herd all of them along, eventually losing the battle and falling forward with Kairi’s on to the tile floor. “Shit,” he cursed.

“I can help whoever’s next- oh!” The receptionist ran from behind the counter, offering a hand to Riku. “Thanks,” he said, taking the hand.

“No problem! Are you checking in or checking out?”  
“I’m checking…” Riku brushed off his pants, and looked up, suddenly face to face with a short, tan, messy-haired boy grinning at him. _Oh god._ Riku’s heart was suddenly trying to give out. _He’s so cute. He’s adorable. Oh god._ “…in.”

“Okay! Follow me! Here, I’ll take these two.” The boy took Kairi and Xion’s suitcase and rolled them over to the counter. “I’m guessing this isn’t all _your_ luggage, right?”  
“Uh, no, no. I was just the one forced to check in.”  
The boy rushed back behind the counter, so short that he just barely made it over the ledge to see Riku. “My name’s Sora. I’m gonna be helping you today, okay?”

“Okay.”

Sora looked up at him. “I like your scrunchie.”

 _Huh? Oh, shit._ Riku touched the fabric tying his hair back. “O-oh! It’s not mine, my hair, it just… the humidity.”

Sora nodded. “I understand. My hair does that, too.”  
“Oh.” _I don’t think your hair could get any bigger than it is,_ Riku thought. Sora had wild hair. It stuck out in all different directions, and Riku briefly wondered if he had made it that way, or if it was natural. It wasn’t bad, though. Riku liked the way the soft spikes framed his face and fell in front of his eyes sometimes.  
“Do you have your MagicBand?”

“My…?”

“You should have gotten them in the mail?”  
“Oh! Yeah.” Riku fumbled around inside the front pocket of Kairi’s bag, until he finally found the thick plastic bracelet that Kairi had given him. “Here.”  
Sora took it from him, scanning the front on some kind of machine.

“Let me find your reservation.” Sora scrolled in the computer, tilting his head and biting his lip. Riku felt like a complete idiot. His heart was beating a million beats a minute for some random kid that worked at fucking Disney World. _Come on, Riku. You’ve got to get it together._

“Who’s getting married?” he smiled, holding his hands together.  
“My best friend, Kairi.”

“Great!” Sora disappeared down under the counter, and returned up with four buttons, carefully scribbling on each one, sticking his tongue out while he did so. He even embellished the dots on the letters with little Mickey heads. _So fucking cute._ “Here you go! This one’s for you!”

Sora handed him the green button, _I’m Celebrating,_ it said, and he had written _“Kairi’s getting married!”_ under it, with his name in the center of it.

“How did you…?”  
Sora shrugged. “I assumed that was your name… Riku. Just ‘cause you don’t really look like a Xion or a Naminé to me.” He smiled again, and his nose crinkled just so when he did, and Riku swore that if he did that one more God damn time _his_ nose would start bleeding here on this shiny tile floor. He was almost positive that this demeanor of his was trained: something they beat into him during orientation. But still…

Sora circled their rooms on the map of the resort, before handing over the rest of the paperwork and the buttons. “Alright, you’re all set,” he said. “Do you need help with the bags?” Riku was about to say _yes_ when he heard Kairi shouting for him.  
“Riku!” He turned on his heel and found the three girls running back. “Are you done?” Kairi asked.  
“Yeah, just finished,” he said, handing her the button reading _happily ever after._

“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go!” They took their bags and started back.  
“I guess not,” Sora laughed.  
“Yeah, thanks, though.”  
“Any time. I hope you have a magical day!” Riku nodded and forced himself to turn around because he knew that if he didn’t, he would stand there and stare at Sora all day.

After putting their bags in their rooms and exploring the grounds a bit, Riku had returned to his room to try and get some unpacking done before dinner. Riku and the girls were in separate rooms, and although he loved them, he was grateful for that. He needed a few minutes to compose himself.

It must just be his mood. It’s a Disney thing. They’re _supposed_ to charm you. He ran his hands over his face. _Why is my heart beating out of my chest?_ He had only just begun to unzip his suitcase when he got a knock on the door. He opened it to find Kairi standing there sheepishly.

“Hey, Riku,” Kairi said, rocking on her heels. “So, don’t be mad.”

“What,” he groaned.  
“Sooooo, I kind of forgot what time our reservations are? At Chef Mickey’s? Could you go down to the desk and ask?” Another chance to talk to the cute fluffy haired boy? Absolutely.

“Sure, Kai. I just need to unpack and then get ready for dinner.”  
“Okay,” she agreed, taking the discarded scrunchie off of Riku’s wrist. “Come over when you get done so I can fix your hair. This humidity is killing you.” Riku self-consciously put a hand up to his head. “Bring the coconut oil I gave you.” He scoffed.

“Like I actually packed that!” He had.  
Xion and Naminé laid on the bed flipping through channels while Riku sat in front of the mirror, Kairi skillfully straightening his hair. “If you put the oil on in the morning like I told you to, we wouldn’t have this problem, Riku.”  
“Oh, _my bad_ for being woken up at the ass-crack of dawn,” he grinned.

Kairi looked at him in the mirror disapprovingly, lightly slapping his cheek.

“Kairi, do my hair next,” Xion said.

“Your hair looks fine, Xion,” Kairi told her.

“Oh, _I see,_ you just like Riku better than me, that’s fine!”

“Of course she does,” Riku told her, and Xion threw the remote at Riku’s chair.

“Do I need to separate you two?” Kairi scolded, Xion and Riku laughing.

 _“I_ like you, Xion,” Naminé grinned, from where she was hanging upside down on the end of the bed.

“Thank you, Naminé.” Xion blew a raspberry at Riku.

Kairi ended up making Riku change his shirt, too. “This shirt’s too tight,” Riku complained, pulling at the fabric, trying to stretch it out.  
“No it’s not, Riku, I don’t know why you’re so worried about showing off,” Kairi put her hands on her hips.

“Yeah, and it’s black, so it makes you look goth as fuck,” Xion noted.  
“No it doesn’t Riku, you look great,” Naminé assured him, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. The torso of it was fine, but he was having a harder time fitting his arms in shirts lately.  
“Are we ready to go?” Kairi asked.

The four of them returned to the lobby, and Riku had almost completely forgotten Kairi’s request before she turned to him and said, “We’re going to go wait for the skyliner, okay?” _Oh, right!_  
“Alright, I’ll meet up with you in just a minute,” Riku told them.

He had meant that, but upon seeing the line for help he wasn’t sure if he _would_ be over there in just a minute. To his surprise, the boy was still there. What was his name again? Sora? There was an unholy amount of people he needed to help, but he still smiled at every person he assisted like they were his best friend. Sora reminded him of Kairi in that way: just pure light. It had to have been fifteen minutes before he finally made it up to the front of the line. His phone buzzed. It was their group chat, that Kairi had recently named _Bride Squad,_ and then Xion had subsequently re-named, _Disney Dorks._

**Kairi** |16:28|

We’re waiting to get on the skyliner

**Xion** |16:28|

You have like 15 minutes or like

**Xion** |16:31|

We will deadass leave without you

**Naminé** |16:32|

No we wont :-)

“Hi again!” Sora was tilting his head to the side, smiling at Riku from behind the counter. “Did I forget something?”  
This was the first time in Riku’s life that he found himself unable to speak for a few beats. Something about this guy just made Riku want to scoop him up and protect him from the big, bad, world. Luckily, he worked at Disney World.

“Um…” Riku walked from where he was standing behind the velvet divider up to Sora’s desk. “No, you didn’t forget anything. We just wanted to know what time our reservations for dinner were tonight.”  
“I can help you!” Sora turned to the computer, gesturing for Riku to tap his MagicBand to the device again. Riku did as he was told. The machine lit up, a green Mickey head. “Great,” Sora said, typing. He looked over at Riku from the corner of his eye for a second, before looking back towards the screen. “You look nice.”  
The air was sucked from Riku’s lungs. Was he imagining it, or were Sora’s cheeks a little pinker than he remembered them being? “Thanks,” he said. “I was forced to get dressed up.”  
Sora laughed. “Well, I see you’re going to Chef Mickey’s, so you’ve gotta look nice!” Sora had stopped scrolling and had his hands on his hips. 

_Stop being a coward. Say something to him._ “So, how long have you worked here?”  
 _That’s stupid Riku. Good fucking going._

“Well, I don’t technically _work_ here,” Sora said, resting his head in his hands, leaning on the counter. “I’m part of the Disney College Program. So, I agree to work and live here for five months while I do some online coursework, and they help pay for part of my degree.”  
“Oh,” Riku said. “So, you live here? Like, in Disney World?”  
Sora shook his head. “Not exactly. I live in a little complex on the property that all the other college students live in.”

“Hmm,” Riku acknowledged. He couldn’t stop looking at the freckles on Sora’s cheeks. He’d like to kiss those cheeks.  
“How do you know the bride?”

“She’s my best friend. We’ve been best friends for like… as long as I can remember.”  
“And she brought you along for her bachelorette party?”

Sora was looking at him incredulously, and Riku never noticed how _blue_ his eyes were. “Well, I’m good friends with the other girls, too. I told her that she didn’t have to take me with her, but she insisted,” Riku shrugged. “I’m really just here to keep them from getting too wild.”  
Sora giggled, shaking his head. “Good man.”

Sora was giving him this look, and Riku was sure that whatever look he was reciprocating just looked panicked. _What is this feeling?_ He’d never craved Kairi’s opinion before, but now he was wishing she was here so she could _see this._

“So, are either-,” he peered back over at the screen, “-Xion or Naminé your girlfriend?” Riku put his hands up a little too quickly. “Oh, um, no, they’re not. I’m…”

Sora opened his mouth just slightly. “Oh.” The air around them had suddenly turned thick, and Riku was finding it hard to move. Riku was trying to read him, but he was hard to figure out. _Is that a good or bad thing, Sora?_

“It’s at 5:30,” Sora said.  
“What?”  
“The reservation. It’s at 5:30.”  
“Oh. Okay.” Riku looked at his watch. “We should be able to make it if we don’t waste time, I think.”  
“You’d better hurry then.”  
“Yeah.”  
Neither Sora nor Riku were making a step towards completing the conversation. “Do you want a sticker?” Sora asked, reaching underneath the desk to pull out a Mickey Mouse sticker, and just because it had Mickey on it, yeah, he did.

“Thanks.” He took the sticker from Sora’s small fingers, lightly grazing his own, and Riku felt like Sora had just shocked him.

“See you around, Riku.”

Riku tore himself away from Sora’s bright smile, forcing himself to keep walking, keep walking, keep walking: and suddenly that sticker was his most prized possession. He kept walking at the same pace until he saw Kairi standing by the skyliner. “Riku!” she yelled, throwing her hands on to her knees, exacerbated. “Where have you _been?”_

“Sorry,” he said, out of breath. “The line was super long.”  
“Did you get a sticker?” Xion teased, and Riku squeezed it in his palm.  
 _“Maybe.”_

They ate dinner at Chef Mickey’s in the Contemporary Resort that night, running up at 5:30 on the dot, before hopping on a monorail to go to the Magic Kingdom. Kairi wanted to take some commemorative photos in front of the castle when it was all lit up at night, so, that’s where they were heading. Riku had not gotten used to all the attention: every time they passed by a cast member, they told the group: _“Congratulations!"_ At first, Riku was confused, but then he remembered the buttons Sora had given him, that Kairi was in turn forcing them all to wear. Kairi was basking in it. “Yes, I _am_ getting married!” she nodded at them. “In three weeks!” They’d even given her a free dessert at dinner.

Once they boarded the monorail, Xion, Naminé, and Kairi were practically plastered to the windows, oohing and ahhing over all the landscaping and the lights.

Riku was trying to reign himself in.

 _He’s a cast member. He literally works here. You don’t have any chance. Shit, you don’t even know if he’s gay. Why do you keep thinking about him?_ Riku rubbed the Mickey Mouse sticker Sora had given him between his fingers.

_If he’s just a cast member… why can’t you get him out of your head?_

Maybe because everywhere you looked at Disney, there were couples. There were couples getting engaged, those on their honeymoons, or celebrating their anniversaries… girls on their bachelorette trip. Getting Sora out of his head when he had suddenly gone from disillusioned romantic to lovesick puppy in six hours flat was going to be harder than he thought. The intercom dinged and snapped Riku out of his trance.

_Please stand clear of the doors._

_Por favor mantente alejada de las puertas._

“Riku, look!” Kairi pointed to the castle in the distance. He didn’t respond. “Riku?”

 _Sora._

What had he gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come visit me on Tumblr @sunshinesoraa <3


	3. Day Two | The Bare Necessities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Two Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwPSG_mKWrCiJLfEHYcUVgWot0FkgDAa  
> 1\. Kilimanjaro Safaris POV  
> 2\. Expedition Everest POV  
> 3\. Kali River Rapids POV (Splash Run Attraction in 3 is based off this!)  
> 4\. Tour Around the Outside of Pop Century  
> 5\. Rainforest Café in Animal Kingdom
> 
> I was giggling like an idiot writing most of this. These awkward boys, I swear.

**Day Two  
** **The Bare Necessities**

Riku dreamt of Sora that first night.  
He dreamt of brown hair tickling his face, and Sora’s soft moans. _“Riku, Riku, Riku…”_ Small hands caressing him, bright-white smiles and rosy cheeks paired on tan skin. When the wakeup call rang and woke him up, he just laid there listening to it ring for a minute. It turned out that thinking about Sora a million times a minute was _exhausting._ He woke up so distraught about it that he spent the first twenty minutes after rolling out of bed just dunking his head into the sink. _I’m an idiot._

Part of him hoped that he wouldn’t see Sora for the rest of the trip, but the better half selfishly hoped he would.

Riku’s hair was still dripping when the knock came on his door. “Uh, did you just get out of the shower or something?” Kairi asked, walking past him to sit on the bed.

“No, I was just…” She stared at him expectantly.  
“…putting my head in the sink.”

“Right… okay. Well, get dressed. We’re leaving in thirty minutes.”  
Riku looked at the clock. “Thirty minutes? It’s six in the morning.”  
“I know that. We need to get to Animal Kingdom before the park opens!”

Riku had no idea how important getting to the park early was, but apparently it was _very_ important, and _everyone_ thought so. The bus was packed, and Riku ended up having to stand so that someone else could have his seat. It didn’t help that the bus drivers drove like they were racing every other car on the road, so he really had to work to keep his balance, and not crash into the ten-year-old girl next to him.

But all of that was so worth it when they got to the park. Disney had always had this talent of unmatched immersion: walking through each gate was like entering an entirely new world. It was just as crowded there as it had been on the bus. Everyone slowly filed through the entrance up to the large rope two cast members were holding across the large expanse of people. Riku briefly wondered what they were waiting for until the rope dropped and Kairi grabbed his hand and they started _running._  
“Why are we running?!” Riku shouted.

 _“We need to be first in line for the safari!”_ Xion yelled back.

“Guys, wait, wait! My sandal fell off!” Naminé hopped behind them.

They made it to the safari, with only a few other people getting on in front of them. They managed to squeeze all four of them into one seat, (Riku was a _tight_ squeeze in between Naminé and Xion). “Look, it’s Riku,” Xion said, pointing to the monkeys.  
“Look, it’s Xion,” Riku pointed to a gorilla licking its butt.

After that they rode Expedition Everest, which everyone loved, but Naminé was a little afraid of. “I really don’t want to,” she told them, looking up at the large drop that was on display at the front of the ride. They finally convinced her to ride if she could hold Riku’s hand. The cast members pushed the bars down over their laps. “Naminé, your hand is so sweaty,” Riku laughed.  
“Yeah, I’m petrified.”

The picture of her going down the big drop, clutching Riku’s arm, crying, made everyone laugh, even her.

Their last ride of the day was Kali River Rapids. Kairi was adamant that it needed to be the last one but wouldn’t tell Riku why. They stood in the queue, and then Kairi turned and opened up her purse.

“Here, put your stuff in my bag,” Kairi said. Naminé and Xion dropped their phones and MagicBands in.  
“Why, are we gonna get wet?”

“You could say that.”

_Getting wet_ was an understatement. They were thirty seconds into the ride and Riku’s back was already stuck to the seat. They started ascending up the big hill. “Wait, wait. Are we going down a big drop?” Riku asked, looking to Kairi, panicked.  
“Yeah. Someone’s going to get absolutely drenched,” Kairi laughed, her hair wet and stuck to her face.

“I bet that if we threw all of our weight to one side, we could make Riku the one who gets it!” Xion suggested. They exchanged devious looks.

“Xion, no!”

It could have been Xion or it could have been the general mechanics of the ride, but Riku was the one who went back-first into the water at the bottom. The wave crashed over the vessel, and the cold water took Riku’s breath away. Xion busted out laughing, and Naminé put her hand over her mouth trying to stifle one. “Oh my God,” Kairi giggled. “You’re _soaked.”_

Riku could barely see through his wet hair hanging in front of his face. He felt like he’d just been thrown into the pool. Riku felt ten pounds heavier exiting the ride. Kairi handed out everyone’s phones from her purse. “I’m going to dry off.”

In the bathroom, Riku tried standing by the automatic dryers and ignoring looks from other guys, but that did little to make his clothes any better. He could feel standing water in his socks. After a couple rounds of the dryer, Riku felt his phone ring in his pocket. It was Kairi.

“What’s up?” he asked, holding the phone to his shoulder.  
“Well, I know we were about to leave but we were talking out here and thought we might get on the train and go pet some animals. But, if you wanna head back and get changed that would be cool with us. I know petting zoos aren’t really your style.”

“Yeah, no, that’s totally fine,” Riku said, squeezing his shirt over the sink. “You guys enjoy the animals. I’ll catch up with you at the resort.”

Riku tossed his phone on to the sink. After a few tries attempting to wring out as much water as he could, Riku made his way to the park’s exit. He was suddenly keenly aware of how out of place he looked without his friends. There were still hundreds of people entering the park, but on the ride back to the resort, he was the only one on board. Walking back into the lobby, he kept having this strange feeling that he was forgetting something…

 _Shit._ He’d put his MagicBand inside Kairi’s bag before they got on the ride. He’d gotten his phone back, but not that. Riku stood in the middle of the lobby, about to text Kairi when he heard someone shouting his name. “Riku! Hey!” Sora was bouncing towards him, wearing regular clothes instead of his uniform, which was strange. What was even stranger was that Sora was even _talking_ to him. “Whoa, what happened to you?”  
“Well, we went to Animal Kingdom this morning and- “

“Kali River Rapids,” he finished. “Yeah, it’ll do that to ya.” Sora winked and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Everything okay?”  
“Um, yeah, I just, left my MagicBand in Kairi’s bag. So, I don’t really know how I’m going to get back into my room?”  
“Oh!” Sora walked past him. “Come with me! I can get the universal key.”  
“Oh, if you’re about to go home, don’t worry about it, I can wait.”  
“No, it’s no problem. It’ll just take a second.” Sora disappeared behind the desk, returning with a MagicBand of his own. “Let’s roll.”

They pushed out of the double doors in the back of the lobby, the sound of children jumping into the pool and screaming piercing Riku’s ears. Sora turned to walk around the back of the building. _Is he going the long way on purpose? I’m almost positive there’s a shorter way…_

Sora swung the arm he was holding the MagicBand in back and forth. “I used to work there,” he said. “On Kali River Rapids.”  
“What happened?”  
Sora laughed nervously. “Well, I accidentally fell into the water, you know, ‘cause I tripped?”

“On what?”

“I just tripped, in general.” _Could someone just 'trip in general'?_  
“Uh, isn’t that… dangerous?”  
“Yeah, well… yeah. So, I got transferred here. Somewhere… safer.” It was much quieter walking around the back by the lake than through the middle near the pools. Sora was wearing a grey t-shirt and shorts, with sandals Riku was almost positive that Kairi had, as well. He had the top part of his spikes pulled up on the top of his head with a hair tie. Riku swallowed thickly. It was like an alarm was going off in his mind every time he saw Sora do _anything._

_Cute. Cute. Cute. He’s so fucking cute._

The pair ascended the stairs up to Riku’s floor. Sora hesitated by the door, like he was trying to formulate words. Riku stared at him. “Sora?” It was nearing midday now. The sun was so sweltering it was starting to dry his clothes for him.

“This might be a little weird to say but… you intrigue me,” Sora said, tapping his feet together.  
“I intrigue you?” Riku blinks at him, crossing his arms, and Sora immediately scratches at the side of his face, embarrassed.   
“Y-yeah. I don’t know, just… oh, forget it.”  
“No, what were you going to say?”

“Nothing, really, it’s just… the Disney magic. It brings people together in strange ways sometimes.”  
Riku smiled. “Aren’t you forced to say stuff like that?”  
“No. I really believe it.” _You’re so innocent, Sora._

“Why do I intrigue you?”

“A couple of reasons, but… well, we get bridal parties all the time, but it’s not every day we get one that turns up with a hot dude as well.”  
Riku could only grin at him now. “Oh, so you think I’m hot, then?”  
Sora stumbled. “I didn’t…!”

“Riku, there you are!” Kairi ran up to the two, face bright red from the sun she’d been getting. She took a deep breath, tired from running down the hall. She looked at Sora who was still flustered in the aftermath of Riku calling him out. “Hi, who’s this?” Riku felt like he’d just been caught making out on the couch by his mom.   
“Uh- this is Sora,” Riku stammered. “He works here; he’s the one who checked us in. I kinda forgot my MagicBand in your purse and I couldn’t get into my room, so, he was going to let me in.”  
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you!” Sora stuck his hand out. “I heard you’re getting married. Congratulations!”

Kairi was so easily charmed. “Thank you!” she gushed, taking his hand.  
“I guess since you’re here, we don’t need the help anymore,” Riku scratched the back of his head. Kairi dug through her purse and handed Riku his MagicBand back. “Thanks, though, Sora.”

“No problem,” Sora said, and then turned back to Kairi, “Congrats again.”

Riku could have been reading too much into it, but Sora almost looked a little… sad. Riku was not very good at hiding his emotions, so he knew his feelings were written all over his face: exposed to Kairi who was staring a hole through him. After Sora was a good fifteen feet away, she turned to him, hands on her hips. Riku wouldn’t look at her, but she leaned down and tilted her head to face his. 

“Is _that_ who you’ve been so in your own head about the past twenty-four hours?”  
Riku avoided her gaze. She caught him. It was over. Kairi smiled, shaking her head. Then she started running down the walkway. _Kairi, what-_

“Sora, wait!”

Sora turned, and Kairi screeched to a halt right in front of him. “We’re going to Epcot tomorrow night… to celebrate my bachelorette party. We’re gonna drink around the world and all that… did you wanna come with us?”  
“Me?”

“Yeah! Riku could use someone that’s not us to pal around with.” Riku was going to kill Kairi.  
“A-are you sure? It’s your celebration.” 

“Of course! When do you get off? Why don't you come to dinner with us so we can get to know you better?" 

_Kairi, seriously?_ He knew that she would take any person under her wing in a heartbeat, but she had just met Sora… like, literally just met him. He should have guessed Kairi would take any opportunity to set Riku up with someone. This wouldn’t be the first time she’d pushed a total stranger on him.

_But I’m not upset about it…_

Sora pushed some hair behind his ear. “Um, I’m off, but I have a paper I need to turn in. But I can come back later?”

“Sure. We’ll be here for a while.”

“Okay.”

Kairi had the most _satisfied_ look on her face walking back to Riku. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to communicate _you’re welcome_ or _gotcha now._

 _“Kairi,_ why did you _do that?”_ Riku demanded.

“You like him.” And she said it like it was so obvious, so simple.  
“I- “

“I mean, I totally don’t blame you,” Kairi said. “He’s pretty cute. I think he kinda looks like Vani. Don’t you think?”  
Riku shook his head. “What? I don’t see that at _all.”_

The most shocking part about it was that Kairi waited until after they had eaten lunch, taken a nap, and were _just_ starting to get ready to come clean. Riku was looking at the Epcot map, and Naminé and Xion were playing Tsum Tsum on their phones.

“So, Riku’s boyfriend’s coming to dinner with us tonight,” Kairi said, her mouth open in the mirror as she layered on mascara. Riku almost tore the map in half.  
“What?!” Xion yelled from where she was cross-legged on the floor.  
“Riku, you have a boyfriend?” Naminé asked.

“Jesus Christ, no, he’s not my _boyfriend,”_ Riku said.

“Okay, fine, but Riku likes him.”

_“Stop saying that!”_

“How did you manage to meet someone in twenty-four hours?” Xion asked, cursing at her game.  
“He works up front…,” Riku said, hiding his face in his hands.

“I’m excited to meet him, Riku,” Naminé said, standing up and placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay.”  
Riku mustered up a broken smile for her, despite the fact he was falling apart on the inside. This was too much. Too much, too fast. He wasn’t supposed to be like this. He wasn’t supposed to fall to pieces over boys he’d just met.

“Geez, Riku. I’ve never seen you act like this,” Xion put her phone down.  
“Alright, alright. Let’s stop teasing him,” Kairi said, replacing the brush into the mascara bottle. “Come on, Riku.” Kairi pulled the chair back in front of the mirror. “The straightener’s warm.”

Kairi was only halfway through fixing up Riku when Sora arrived. Riku turned to look when Sora knocked on the door, but Kairi pushed his head back to face the mirror. “Stay still or I’ll burn you.”

“Who is it?” Xion pressed her ear against the door. “What’s the password?” Naminé waited patiently behind Xion to meet him.  
“I don’t know the password, but it’s me!” Sora shouted, and Riku looked at Kairi in the mirror, _scared._

“Come in!” Kairi responded, and Xion pushed the lock back and let him in.

“Oh my god, you’re actually attractive,” Xion said, stepping back so he could come in the room.  
“Um, thank you?”  
“I’m Xion,” she said, sticking out her hand. “I’m the cool one.”

“Ignore her. I’m Naminé,” Naminé smiled, pushing Xion’s hand away. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

“I’m Sora.”

The three pairs of eyes behind them wandered over to Riku and Kairi. “Hey, Kairi,” Sora said. “I hope I’m not too late.”

“No, you’re perfect. Just in time to watch me fix Riku’s hair.” Riku groaned. He’d almost forgotten that he was only wearing his v-neck tank top, until Sora stepped behind him in the mirror and wouldn’t stop staring at him. Kairi smiled, pulling another strand from Riku’s head to work on.  
“Don’t worry, he’s not wearing that out,” Kairi said, winking at Sora.

“O-okay.”

They returned to Animal Kingdom at dusk.

Riku had been to a Rainforest Café before, once, but it was a long time ago, and not at Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom closed earlier than all the other parks, so the shuttle out there was empty other than the five of them.

Sora did not miss a beat. Riku wondered if he’d always been this sociable or if he had to learn it once he started working at Disney. But how was he so fucking _genuine_ all the time? He answered every question thrown at him like he was expecting it.  
“Do you like working here?” Naminé asked, holding her bag as the bus went over a bump.  
“I do! It’s been a fun experience, and everyone I’ve worked with so far has been super nice. Plus, having unlimited access to the parks isn’t a bad thing.” He threw Xion’s backhanded jokes back at her like a professional. He had no right being so easy to talk to.

Kairi remembered what time their reservations were today. They stood in the line to check in. _Am I having an anxiety attack?_ Riku was hyperaware of his close proximity to Sora. Kairi, Xion, and Naminé were interacting with him so effortlessly, and Riku was just trying not to break out into a sweat. Naminé and Xion dragged Sora off through the gift shop, and Kairi nudged Riku’s arm with her shoulder.

“He looks cute tonight,” Kairi said. “You should tell him that.”

At this point, Riku would take any advice Kairi wanted to give him. He was treading water. “I… can’t,” Riku whispered.  
“Yes you can. Look at him.”

And Riku did. Xion was putting a ridiculous hat on his head, and he was _laughing._ He looked just like he had in Riku’s dream, all silly expressions and confident demeanor. Riku felt like he was throwing up words. “Kairi, I’m freaking out.”  
“I know.”  
“What’s happening to me?”

“Riku, I think you’d feel better if you just admitted to yourself you _like_ him.”  
Riku shook his head. “I’m losing my mind.”  
“Riku…”

“Do you have a reservation?” the cast member checking people in looked down at Riku and Kairi, and Kairi gave Riku a worried look before stepping up. “Yeah.”

This restaurant was full of distractions. It was distracting enough to keep the focus off of Riku, but not enough to keep Riku from thinking about how close Sora’s hand was to his. “Is this the first park you’ve been to?” Sora asked, handing Kairi a straw.

“Kinda,” she said. “We went to Magic Kingdom for a few minutes last night to take pictures, but that was it.”  
“You didn’t go to Magic Kingdom right off the bat?”

“I know, weird, right?” Xion responded.

“What was your favorite ride?”

“I think- “

The animatronics started making noise. The lights flickered and every animal noise imaginable filled the room. It took about ten seconds for it to die down.

“- we all had a good time on Everest,” Kairi finished. “Except maybe Naminé.”

“Whaaaaat? Why not? That’s my favorite!” Sora cried.  
“I was terrified,” Naminé laughed. “It was kind of fun, though.”

Kairi looked at Riku. “Of course, _Riku’s_ favorite was Kali River Rapids.”

_Riku? Your line?_

“Absolutely not,” he said.

Sora giggled. “You made the whole lobby wet.”

“It’s Xion’s fault.”

“It is not!” Xion argued.  
“Yes, it is! You turned the raft that way!”

“I hate to break it to you, but it’s random,” Sora said.

“Hah!” Xion pointed. Kairi rolled her eyes.

It got easier. Sora kept pressing his arm into Riku’s, and when conversation lagged, Kairi and Sora were quick to pick it back up. Sora _was_ very easy to talk to.

“Look what Axel just sent me,” Kairi said, and Naminé and Xion leaned in to look at her phone.

Sora was messing with his straw, pushing it around in the cup with his finger.

_You should tell him he looks cute._

“Hey, Sora?”  
“Hmm?” Sora peered at Riku from the corner of his eye, the straw hanging out of his mouth. _You’re so cute. Look at your eyelashes. Do boys even have eyelashes that long?_

“I just wanted to say…”

Sora blinked.

“Sora, you look-“ And then the animals all started screaming. Of course he’d been expecting it to happen again, but _fuck, did it have to be right now?_

 _“What?”_ Sora yelled back.

 _“I said-“_ This really wasn’t letting up, was it? Well, better now than never.

Riku sighed, frustrated. He yelled: _“I said you look really cute tonight!”_

And then it was quiet.

“Oh.”

Xion dropped her fork, and Kairi slapped a hand over her mouth. Luckily, the awkward silence didn’t last long, because the waiter was bringing Kairi her dessert of the night. Sora stared at his lap, breathing hard. Riku could physically see his cheeks become rosy. _That's it. It's over. I've fucked it all up. I-_

Sora hesitantly reached out under the table and grabbed Riku’s hand.

Normally, Riku would have been horrified by the amount of attention he had already attracted to the table, and now they were celebrating Kairi, loudly, but he couldn’t bring it in himself to care. Sora was holding his hand. He’d made Sora _blush._ He squeezed Sora’s hand, just to find that Sora grinned when he did.

“We need to take pictures!” Kairi demanded on the way out. “In the photo booth!” Riku opened his mouth to protest, but all four of them were already looking at him with pleading eyes.  
“C’mon, Riku!” Xion begged.  
“Please?” Sora asked, sticking his lip out, and how could he say no to that?

How they fit all five of them inside that small photo booth, Riku would never know, but all he _did_ know was that he was stuck in the middle, and Sora was practically _sitting on his lap,_ and on the third photo when Kairi instructed everyone to kiss Riku, Sora pressed his lips to Riku’s cheek and he refused to look at the printed photos because he knew that he looked like a mess.

And they laughed about it the whole way back, the other people on the bus staring at them angrily, sleeping toddlers in their laps. Sora was sitting across from him beside Kairi, and every time Sora’s eyes lit up, Riku had to bite back a smile.

“I should head back,” Sora said when they reached their rooms. “It’s getting late.”  
“It was so great getting to hang out with you, Sora,” Kairi said, her hands behind her back. “We’ll see you tomorrow, right?”  
“Of course!” Kairi, Naminé, and Xion said their goodbyes to him before quickly going back into their own room, leaving them alone on the mezzanine.

_Guys…_

“Did you have fun tonight?” Riku asked.

“Yeah. Your friends are really nice. I’m glad Kairi invited me.”

“Mm,” Riku nodded. “Me too.” Sora was looking at him, and he was looking at Sora, and all he really wanted to do was hold his hand again, or kiss his cheeks, or just _kiss him,_ but instead he said: “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Sora smiled, giving him a single nod. “Yeah. See you tomorrow, Riku.”

Sora turned, leaving him standing in front of his door, and he didn’t stop watching him until Sora turned the corner towards the elevators, because it was taking every bit of restraint he had trying not to say, _don’t go._

When Riku turned to enter his own room, he saw Xion, Naminé, and Kairi with their faces pressed to the glass of the window, waving and giving him thumbs up. He slammed his hands on the glass, knocking them off of it. They ran out of their room, attacking Riku. “Ah!”

“Aw!” Kairi cooed, squeezing him. “We’re so proud of you, Riku!”  
“Widdle Wiku’s got a crush!” Xion teased, pinching his cheeks.

“I’m so happy for you, Riku!” Naminé smiled, looking up at him from where she hung off his arm. They pulled him into their room, where they continued attacking him with questions and comments about Sora, but Riku couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he was going to get to see him again.

Tomorrow.

He couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!  
> Buckle up, the next chapter is a roller coaster. 
> 
> Visit me on Tumblr @sunshinesoraa <3


	4. Day Three | Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Three Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwPSG_mKWrBreU_sRIAzhwf-ciURWcwx 
> 
> 1\. Spaceship Earth POV  
> 2\. World Showcase Tour  
> 3\. Fountain in Italy Pavilion  
> 4\. Soarin’ POV
> 
> Who's ready to go from zero to a hundred real quick? 
> 
> !!Smut Ahead!!  
> If you want to skip it, it's pretty obvious when it starts.

**Day Three  
** **Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow**

**R** iku could go his whole life without seeing another dick.

It wasn’t until he was standing in the girls’ room surrounded by nothing but dicks, dicks, confetti, and more dicks that he realized he hadn’t ever really _attended_ a bachelorette party. He stood in the corner of the room, arms crossed. Kairi was pulling a ‘ _bride’_ sash over her head.  
“Riku, _come over here,”_ Naminé begged.

“I’m good.”  
Xion threw a lollipop at him. “You look like a fuckin’ strawberry over there, you’re so red. Come on. We’re pre-gaming.” Riku leaned down and picked up the candy, and - _fuck!-_ he dropped it to the ground. Of _course_ it was a penis. “Why… why are there so many dicks?”

“Because, we’re here to celebrate Kairi! She’s gotta have one last wild night before she’s stuck with the same penis forever!” It didn’t really make sense to Riku, but sure. Xion was getting ready to pour him a shot when they heard a knock on the door. Eager to look at something other than a phallic figure, Riku opened it.

“Hi!” Sora grinned up at him, all soft features and literal sunshine. He was wearing shorts, (somewhere under his shirt), but his long-sleeved Disney World jersey was so big it barely looked like he was wearing pants.

“H-hey- “

_“Sora! Get in here!”_

Sora stepped inside, immediately breaking out into a laugh. “Congratulations!” He handed Kairi a bottle of vodka, and she held it to her chest.

“Aw, aren’t you the sweetest?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and handed him a dick lollipop that he took so cavalierly; like it was nothing, like he’d bought it at a corner store, and tore the wrapper off, sticking it in his mouth.

“Thanks!”

Riku was sure, _positive,_ that this was a dream. This had to be a dream. He felt like he was walking through one the whole ride to Epcot and only snapped out of it when they got to the entrance, and he was standing underneath Spaceship Earth which was so much bigger than he’d remembered it. He stared up at the large structure, before he felt two hands grab his. “Let’s go, Riku!” Sora and Kairi shouted.

Going right when they entered the World Showcase, they started in Canada. Riku wasn’t the slightest bit surprised when they were three countries in and Kairi was already sloshed. She was the walking definition of a lightweight. It _really_ didn’t help that people were offering to buy her drinks because she was the bride-to-be, because, _“How could I turn that down, Riku?”_ To top it all off, she ate like a bird, so that just made the whole situation that much better.

“Hey, Sora,” she said, leaning against him while in line for her first bite of food since noon. “I love you. So, so, so much.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She and Sora had been glued at the hip since they got here. If Riku didn’t know better, he’d worry they’d leave him for each other.

By the time they were in Japan, Riku was holding Kairi up by the arm. “You want anything?” Sora asked, bouncing in place. “We’re getting sake.”  
“Uh, sure. Yeah. Just, whatever’s fine.”

 _“I want something!”_ Kairi demanded.  
“No, you don’t,” Riku told her.

Sora nodded, disappearing around the corner with Naminé and Xion.

Kairi giggled, shaking her head. “What’s so funny?” Riku smiled, sitting on a pair of steps with Kairi in tow.  
“He’s so fun… I love him.” Riku pulled a ribbon from Kairi’s wrist and proceeded to tie her hair back.  
“That so?” Riku said, gathering a handful of red hair in his hand. “I’m glad you like him.”  
“Yeah… you deserve that Riku.” He tied a bow around the ponytail. “You deserve someone good.”

“Get emotional later, Kairi,” Riku chuckled, and kissed her on the top of her head. “Okay?”  
She nodded. “Love you.”  
“I love you too, you absolute sap.”

Sora handed him the cup, and then offered a hand to Kairi to help her stand. “I brought you something anyway,” he winked, Naminé passing it to Kairi.

“Aw, _Sora!”_

 _Yep,_ Riku thought. _Two peas in a pod._

There was nothing left but stars in the sky when they reached Italy. The further they walked, the slower Kairi’s pace became, and the park was supposed to be closing in an hour. He knew they wouldn’t make it around the rest of the World Showcase, but that was fine, because Riku wasn’t sure he could finish it without pissing himself or Kairi blacking out.

They entered the pavilion with all of their arms linked, before the girls suddenly broke away from the chain. “We’re gonna go to the bathroom really quick!” They navigated through the crowd, leaving Sora and Riku alone. They looked at each other before realizing their arms were still linked and shot apart like opposing magnets. Sora wavered on his feet. Riku, who was significantly less tipsy than he was, led him over to a large fountain to sit down.

“Sit down before I have to pick you up off the floor.”

 _“Riiiiiiiku,”_ he whined, wrapping his arms around one of Riku’s. “You’re so hot!”

 _“Huh?”_ Sora rubbed his face into Riku’s sleeve.

“Look at you!” He grabbed at Riku’s bicep. “Mr. Muscles!”  
“Uh… thank you?”

To be fair, Riku swallowed Sora in regard to size. Sora could quite possibly be the smallest grown man he’d ever seen.

“Well, I think you’re adorable.”  
“Y-you do?”  
“Yeah. I’d love to make you mine,” Riku took the last sip of his drink from Japan, setting it down on the stone beside them, wishing he _hadn’t_ said that, but fuck it. He forgot how much braver he became after he’d been drinking.  
Sora laughed sloppily, shaking his head. His hair shook back and forth when he did so. “We just met, Riku.”  
“Who cares? It’s like you said, _Disney magic_ , right? You could be mine. For just a little while.”  
Sora pressed his knees together, smiling. He giggled. “I’d really like that.”

The girls had been gone a long time. Riku was about to get up and go find them when Sora spoke. “There are so many coins in this fountain,” Sora said.

“Yeah. I heard after a while they come in and collect them all. Donate them to a charity or something.”  
“No, they can’t. Those are all wishes. It’s a fountain _full_ of wishes.”

Sora was a different kind of person. It was obvious when you looked at him that the world hadn’t gotten to him yet, nothing had broken him, nothing had burned him. Riku watched as Sora stared at his own reflection in the water. Riku reached into his back pocket. “Here.” Riku handed him a quarter, keeping one himself. “I brought these to press pennies, but I accidentally brought too many. Go ahead, make a wish.”

Sora took it, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing it to his chest. Riku just threw his in. _What do I have to wish for?_

Sora tossed the coin, watching the water ripple their reflection back at them.

“So, what did you wish for?” Sora asked.

“I can’t tell you. Then it won’t come true.”  
Sora pouted. “Oh. Well, aren’t you gonna ask me what _I_ wished for?”  
Riku chuckled. “Sure, Sora. What did you wish for?”  
“I wished for you to kiss me.”

_Wait, what?_

Sora was staring down at his hands, squeezing them together.   
_He wants you to kiss him!  
Fucking kiss him! _

“Sora?”

“Wha- “

Sora looked up at him, stopping mid-reply when Riku brushed a thumb over Sora’s mouth. Riku simply towered over him, and Sora’s cheeks were illuminated that much pinker by the decorative streetlights. Riku pushed his hair behind his ear, adoring how Sora leaned into his touch. Riku bent down and pressed a soft kiss to Sora’s lips, holding a hand steady on the back of his neck where he could feel Sora’s skin heat up. They pulled back, and Sora just stared at him, wide-eyed.

_“Oh.”_

Sora wouldn’t stop eyeing Riku’s mouth and biting his lip, and _God damn it_ if he wasn’t irresistible when he did that. The time for hesitant interaction was over. Riku wasted no time pulling Sora back in, with twice as much enthusiasm as the first kiss. He took Sora’s face in both of his hands, running a hand through Sora’s hair while Sora parted his lips slightly to let Riku in. Riku licked along Sora’s bottom lip, and Sora fucking _shivered,_ breathing a heavy breath into Riku’s mouth.

“Naminé, hurry up!” Riku heard Xion’s voice cut through the white noise ringing loudly in his ears, so he placed one more gentle kiss on Sora’s red lips before pulling away, and Sora made the smallest noise, trying to communicate _no, please, don’t stop._ Sora held a hand to his mouth in shock.

“Alright, let’s… Sora, what’s wrong?”

“I- “

“Riku,” Kairi cried, stumbling over from behind Naminé. “Feel bad.” Kairi sat down on the fountain beside Riku with her head in her hands. “What if we catch the boat across?” Riku suggested, rubbing circles into Kairi’s back. “That’s not as much walking.”  
“No boat,” she shook her head. “No walk. Only sit.”  
“Why don’t you guys just head on back?” Naminé asked. Riku looked at both her and Xion hesitantly. “Sora doesn’t look so good.”

Sora did look quite a bit paler, hands still shaking.  
“We’ve got her covered. Really. Go,” Xion insisted. “She has to walk eventually.”  
“Alright… I guess we’ll go wait for the boat. Please text me if you need me, okay?”  
“We’ll be _fine,_ Riku,” Xion rolled her eyes.

“Be good, Kairi,” Riku told her. “Ready, Sora?”

“Yeah,” Sora said. “Let’s go.”

The boat ride blew Sora’s hair back, and he closed his eyes, leaning against the railing. Riku felt sick to his stomach from both the gentle rocking and the anticipation stirring inside him. He cautiously laced Sora’s fingers with his on the seat, and Sora didn’t open his eyes, only smiling in response. They didn’t stop holding hands once they got off the boat, and Riku couldn’t stop thinking about how it just felt so right. He didn’t want to leave, because he knew that once they left the park, this night would be over.

“Are you ready to go?” Riku asked. _Please say no._

Sora shrugged, still slightly wavering when he stood. Other cast members were standing outside of Test Track letting guests know they were making last calls for the night.

“The park’s supposed to close in ten. Wanna go make out on Soarin’?”

Riku smiled. “Hell yeah.”

They ended up riding Soarin’ _quite_ a few times and got stuck waiting for the bus for almost a full hour. Sora’s hand was tightly wrapped in Riku’s when he felt his phone vibrate, so he pulled it out. The group chat was blowing up.

**9 New Messages | Disney Dorks**

**Xion** |22:23|

Riku did you guys make it back yet

**Kairi** |22:24|

Riku I love you

**Kairi** |22:24|

Riku tell sora I love him

**Kairi** |22:24|

Have you guys ever tateed a cuurro?

**Kairi** |22:24|

Curro

**Kairi** |22:25|

Churro

**Naminé** |22:26|

Anyway we’re back in the room whenever you get here

**Xion** |22:29|

You can see the fireworks from our floor!!!!!

**Naminé |** 22:31|

Let us know when you get this so we know ur safe :-)

Riku shook his head, smiling.

**Riku** |22:33|

Sorry, we ended up riding a couple more rides

**Riku** |22:33|

We’re in line for the bus right now but it’s packed so idk when we’ll be back

**Kairi** |22:34|

Riku I miss youuuuuupfpu

**Riku** |22:35|

Kairi, go to bed, sweetie

“Are they wondering where we are?” Sora asked.  
“Yeah. They’re already back.”  
“Look,” Sora said, giving Riku’s hand a tug. “There’s a bus.” Riku was so relieved to see one going to their resort after waiting for so long, (two busfuls had already gone before this one) but looking at the amount of people in front of them now, he worried they’d miss this one, too.

It was a tight fit. The only place left to sit would be the steps, unless they wanted to be separated by two teenagers that were standing and holding on to the rails, and Riku wasn’t sure Sora could reach that high. “Come on,” Riku said, leading Sora back to the steps that separated the two levels. Riku sat on the step and patted his lap. “Sit down, you’ll fall.” Sora did as he was told.

Other than the people they got off the bus with, the resort was devoid of activity this late at night. Halfway through the walk back, Sora ended up having to carry his sandals. “I forgot how much walking it can be,” he said. “I knew I shoulda worn sneakers.” The pool and the dining hall were already closed by the time they made it to the resort, so the path was basically empty except for a few old couples making laps around the lake. The elevator ride up to Riku’s floor and the walk to the room was silent.

“Guess this is it,” Sora said, finding the courage to wrap his arms around Riku’s waist. It smelled like fresh cut grass and it sounded like summer, and the final remnants of the fireworks made it feel like magic, and Sora was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen, so he took his wrists and pulled him closer, tilting his head to reach Sora’s lips. Part of this whole thing felt wrong. Four days ago, he had no idea that Sora existed, but something deep and rooting and aching in the back of his head told him he wouldn’t be able to live without him now.

And Sora was standing there barefoot, cheeks alcohol flushed and hair messy from the wind, and he smelled like sake and funnel cakes with sugar on top, and Riku _knew_ he’d had too much to drink and Sora had too, but the way Sora was lacing his fingers through Riku’s belt loops was telling him what he already knew.

“You didn’t forget your MagicBand again, did you?” Sora asks, breathless.

“No, why?”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

Riku held his band to the door and pushed it open, pulling Sora inside before slamming him back up against it with reckless abandon. Riku held Sora’s arms to the cold metal, and pressed his lips back on to Sora’s, Sora moaning into his mouth.

_I’m going crazy. You have no idea what you do to me, Sora._

Sora dropped his arms to Riku’s shoulders, and Riku pressed into him, letting Sora feel the growing hardness there. Sora blinked, and before Riku could begin to say _“do you want to…”_ Sora dropped to the floor, pulling at Riku’s shorts.

“Sora… you’re drunk. We shouldn’t.”  
“It’s okay, I don’t mind,” Sora fumbled with Riku’s belt, fingers not cooperating in the slightest. “Besides, I’m not even that drunk anymore.”

“Are you sure, because, I don’t- I don’t want to make you-“  
“I said it’s _fine,_ Riku, now let me suck your dick.” Sora tugged Riku’s zipper down, reaching to pull out Riku’s length that was already more than halfway hard.  
“Whoa. You’re… big.”  
“Ah, sorry,” Riku apologized.  
“N-no! It’s just _unexpected.”_

“You’re acting like I have a third leg, Sora.”

Riku supposed he was above average in size, but no other partners had ever _complained_ about it. But he did tower over Sora, so he understood. He briefly wondered if he’d fit inside Sora’s petite body, but that concern was immediately rectified when Sora took the entirety of Riku’s cock into his mouth at once.

Ooooooooo _kay._

Riku’s head fell against the door with a loud slam, and he spread his legs apart to let Sora get a better angle. For such an innocent looking boy, Sora was _extremely_ skilled. It only took one or two deep thrusts back into Sora’s throat with his tongue expertly running along Riku’s shaft for him to pull Sora back by the shoulders. “Sora, stop, or I’ll- “

Sora took a deep breath once Riku stepped away, drool running down his mouth.  
“I mean, didn’t you want to…?” Riku hoped he understood what he was getting at.

Sora held his head down, swallowing. “Do I…?”

He might’ve expected Sora to say no, or continue anyway, but he didn’t expect Sora to look so _scared,_ and the way he seemed to wait for Riku to guide him, wait for Riku to make the next step or tell him what to do lined up all the pieces. _There’s no fucking way._

“Sora… have you… is this your first time?”   
“I…”  
 _“Sora.”_

“Yeah… yeah. Sorry. I should’ve told you.”

“Sora, I don’t want you to feel pressured into this in any way.”  
“I _want_ to do it. Tonight has been… so much fun. Perfect. I want to do it tonight.” Riku squatted down in front of Sora, pressing a gentle kiss to his swollen lips that Riku had definitely abused tonight. “I know you’ll be kind, Riku. I want to.”  
“Okay. I’ll take good care of you.”

As much as Riku wanted to fuck Sora wide open, he was going to take his time, and do this right. He wished someone would have taken that same courtesy to him when he lost his virginity. Riku matched Sora’s nerves beat for beat, as he’d never been someone’s first. Riku’s nerves were already on fire after having touched Sora so much, and he briefly wondered how he’d be able to function in the morning when it all came back to him. Riku helped Sora up, kissing him the whole way back to the bed. Riku kicked his pants off of his ankles and reached up to pull his shirt over his head. Sora shook. Part of him knew that most likely, this would be a one-night thing. He’d leave in a few days and never see Sora again, but God, he didn’t want it to be like that. Sora pulled at his heartstrings like he was an expert at playing them.

Sora had never been kissed like Riku kissed him that night. Riku kissed him with the perfect balance of patience and urgency, like Sora was a delicacy meant to be savored. Sora’s legs hurt from walking too much, and his head felt hot from all the alcohol, and from Riku, who was pressing on top of him, erection rubbing against his stomach. This wasn’t like when Riku went through dating apps just trying to find a warm body. Sora made him feel things that he didn’t know he was capable of feeling. He’d wanted to get to know Sora before he ever considered fucking him, this was just a happy accident.

Riku kissed at Sora’s neck, moving underneath his oversized shirt to unbutton his shorts, and pull them off along with his underwear. Sora pressed his hands over his face. “Sora, it’s okay,” Riku assured him, removing them. “Let me see you. How am I supposed to kiss you if you’re hiding?” Riku grabbed Sora’s thigh, his hand almost twice the size of it, gently kissing Sora before biting his bottom lip. He reached underneath Sora’s shirt to take one of his hard nipples in between two fingers and pinch. _“Riku,”_ Sora whined, arching his back off the bed and into Riku. “I want it.”  
“What do you want, Sora?”  
“I want you inside me.” It had been less than ten minutes, and Sora was already on the verge of _begging._ Riku shook his head at him.  
“We gotta get you ready for it first.” He was silently thanking whatever-god that Kairi had talked him into using the coconut oil on his hair, and that he’d actually gone as far as to pack it. Grabbing it off the counter, Sora asked, “D’you have a condom?”  
“Yeah,” Riku said. “I think. Let me check.” Riku dug through the pocket of his suitcase, finally finding one, also thanking _himself_ for packing them three trips ago, and then never taking them out.

Riku crawled back over him. “Open your legs for me, Sora.” Sora did as he was told. _So obedient._

“You’ve touched yourself before, right?”  
“Um, I mean… a couple times, but…”

“Here, you touch yourself first. So you know how it will feel. Let me see you try.” Sora reached down, letting Riku guide his fingers towards his ass. “Go slow, okay?” Riku instructed, and Sora pushed a finger inside, wincing.

“Feels bad, Riku…”  
“I know. It’ll get better. Keep trying.” Riku brushed Sora’s hair from his forehead, kissing the top of his head. Sora pushed the finger in, inch by inch until he stopped at the knuckle.

The sight of Sora stretching himself out was practically intoxicating, and the taboo of it all was making Riku a little lightheaded. Sora looked so fucking sexy laid out in front of him, and he hardly knew him, but he felt like I could get used to fucking him regularly. “Good job,” Riku praised, nibbling the insides of Sora’s thighs. “You’re almost there.”  
“Riku, you do it.”  
“You want me to take over?”  
“Yeah, please.”

Sora removed his hand and Riku thoughtfully coated his own fingers in the oil before putting them down where Sora’s hand had been. “Okay?”  
“Yeah. ‘M okay.”

Sora cried out at the sensation of the first finger, and Riku made quick work of locating Sora’s prostate so he could provide him some relief, gently nudging the spot with the tip of his finger. _“Ah,”_ Sora moaned, pushing his bottom down to meet Riku’s hand.  
“There, see? That’s it.” Riku took this as an excuse to put the second finger in, moving in and out, scissoring inside of Sora, stretching him. “How does that feel, baby?”  
“G-good,” Sora choked out.  
“Alright, I’m gonna add another one, okay? This might hurt a little...” Riku was gentle pushing in the third, feeling Sora’s muscles stretch to fit. Sora whined in protest, shaking his head. “Shh,” Riku soothed. “It’s okay. You want my dick, don’t you?”

“Y-yeah,” Sora mumbled. “Want it.”

“Gotta make sure you’re ready for it first, then, okay? You’re doing so well, Sora.”

Riku’s praises made Sora’s heart flutter in a way he didn’t know it could. He’d almost ignored the aching feeing in his own cock to focus on Riku’s voice commanding him, encouraging him, comforting him. Riku pumped the fingers in and out a few times, before Sora got a little softer. “There,” Riku said. “That’s better.”  
“Riku, please.”  
“What is it, baby?”  
“Riku, I… I’m… I’m ready.”  
“Hm. Ready for what?” he teased, placing a kiss on Sora’s neck. “Tell me.”  
“Want your dick in me, Riku… please…”  
“Of course.”

He took his fingers out, and Sora cried out at the empty feeling. Riku tore the condom open with his teeth, pulled it out and discarded the package somewhere in the room. “Alright, Sora, you’re sure?”  
Sora laid there, watching Riku roll it onto himself, and Sora didn’t know if he’d ever been this hard in his life. He couldn’t believe he was about to finally lose it to someone so kind and so patient and so fucking _hot._ Sora could only nod. 

Riku bent Sora’s legs back, trying to figure out what position would hurt him the least. “Sora, if I start to hurt you, or it gets to be too much, I want you to tell me, okay?”

“Yes,” he said. “I will.”  
“You won’t hurt my feelings. I want to make you feel good.”  
“I know, Riku. You are.”

He held on to Sora’s knees and lined himself up with Sora’s entrance, using one of his hands to start to insert himself. The first push was painful, always was. Sora gritted his teeth, and Riku held steady on Sora’s side. “Keep your legs up, okay? You’re alright. You’re doing so well.” Tears poured down Sora’s face. “Sora, baby. Tell me you’re okay.”  
“’M okay,” he sniffed.

Once Riku got the head in, it was so much easier. “Almost there, Sora.” It had to have been at least six months since the last time Riku got laid, so the sheer tightness of Sora’s virgin hole was earth shattering. “Shit.” Riku kept pushing until he couldn’t anymore, resting his head on one of Sora’s shaky legs.  
“W-what’s wrong? Does it hurt?” Sora breathed.

“No, Sora- _ah…_ fuck, you feel so good. You’re perfect, Sora, perfect.”

“I feel good?” he titled his head to the side, and _God,_ how was he managing to be adorable even now?

“Yeah, baby, so good. Can I move?”

“Okay.” Riku pulled out a few inches before carefully moving back in, holding Sora’s hip with one hand and the back of his head with another. “That alright?” Sora nodded quickly, “Yeah. Feels r-really good.”  
“Feels good?” Riku grinned, giving Sora another thrust. Sora pushed his head back into Riku’s hand, crying in pleasure. Riku placed both hands on Sora’s hips now, steadying himself. “Alright, baby. Are you okay? I’m gonna fuck you now.”

“You’re…?”

Riku tested the waters, starting Sora off with a smooth rhythm, steadily filling him. Riku had never heard a sound quite like the one that came out of Sora. _“Oh.”_

Riku didn’t have slow sex. Most of the time, it was rushed, desperate fucking, not like this. Riku was pacing himself, for Sora’s sake, and he could feel _everything._ Every small movement that Sora made, every breath, every noise, and he’d never really connected with the phrase “making love” until now. “How’s that?” Riku prompted.  
“I- _hah,_ you feel so good in me, Riku…”

Riku cooed softly at him. “Want me to keep fucking you slow like this? Or you want me to do more?” Riku would have been happy with any answer, really, as long as he got to keep pressing into Sora and hearing his soft moans by Riku’s ear. Sora squirmed under his weight, making quiet little noises every time Riku thrusted into him.  
“Do… more,” he finally decided, and Riku kissed him lightly.  
“Whatever you want, Sora.”

Riku picked up the pace, falling on to Sora’s shoulder at the increased friction. “Fuck, Sora.” Sora’s legs were shaking so violently he was practically falling to pieces under him. “Okay?” Riku asked.

 _“Hah-_ yeah, it’s- _ah,”_ Sora arched his back as Riku got faster. _“Riku.”_ Sora was being so loud, but Riku didn’t really care at this point, because he’d do anything to keep Sora moaning his name over and over again.

_“Riku, Riku, Riku, Riku- “_

Riku took Sora’s dick in his hand, giving him a few good pumps. Sora’s words were no longer coherent, only coming out in the form of high-pitched cries and breathless _Riku_ s, and Riku wanted to remember the way Sora’s face looked with his mouth hung open, eyes squeezed shut and spread out for him, for the rest of his life. Riku’s phone buzzed and lit up the back half of the room, but he ignored it.

“You’re so good, Sora. So good. Talk to me, baby.”  
“Riku, I’m… I’m gonna…”  
“Gonna cum? It’s alright,” he said, leaning over to give Sora a kiss over his open mouth, fucking him through his cries. “You can if you need to. Come on, baby, cum for me.” 

“Harder,” Sora cried out, shaky hands fisting the sheets.  
“Harder, huh? I don’t want to hurt you.”  
 _“Please,”_ Sora whined, pushing his hips down. Riku chuckled.

“Alright. So needy.” Riku took Sora’s hands in his own and held them beside Sora’s head, bracing him down before fucking him straight into the mattress. Sora sobbed, so loudly people would think he’d just been broken up with. _“_ Ah, _Riku, Riku- ah,”_ and Riku prayed that they were all asleep next door.

Sweat was covering Riku’s face now, and he could no longer contain his own sounds of pleasure. _“Hah, Sora,_ I’m not gonna… last much longer.” Sora was just crying, his whole body starting to tremble in response. _Not long for you either, huh?_ Riku was stunned at how in tune he could be with him when he’d known him for three days. Sora gasped in a breath like he was coming up from underwater. _“Riku, I feel- “_

Sora pressed his face into Riku’s arm while long strings of white painted Sora’s sweaty shirt. Riku had to close his eyes at the sight, going from zero to a hundred at once, before releasing his own seed inside of Sora. “Fucking hell, Sora,” he growled, pressing his forehead into Sora’s. When he opened his clouded eyes, Sora was just sleepily grinning at him.

_Sora._

_You’re going to kill me._

Sora shook in Riku’s arms, breath uneven. “I’m so proud of you,” Riku praised, pressing soft kisses to Sora’s face. “You did so well. So good for me. Are you okay?” Sora nodded, and Riku wrapped an arm around him, pulling him into his chest. “Shh,” Riku soothed, running a hand through Sora’s hair. “Was it okay?”

“It was… everything, Riku. Thank you,” he said, looking up at Riku with the most gentle look he might have ever seen. Riku moved to stand, before Sora cried out in protest. “No.”  
“I was going to get something to clean you up, Sora. You’re messy.”  
“Don’t go.”  
“I’ll be right back.” Riku wet a washcloth in the sink, cleaning off himself and Sora before helping Sora remove the dirty shirt from over his head. Sora held his arms out, signaling for Riku to hold him. Sora shifted up to kiss him. “Riku?”

“Hmm?”  
“Do I have to leave now?”  
“Of course not, Sora. Stay here with me.” Sora nodded, resting back on Riku’s bare chest.

Riku got another notification, so he reached over to the bedside table and tapped his phone.

**3 New Messages | Disney Dorks**

_Oh, fuck._ Riku looked down at Sora to make sure he couldn’t see the screen.  
 _Oh fuck oh shit._

**Naminé** |00:47|

Oh my god riku are u serious right now

**Naminé** |00:48|

UR BEING SO LOUD STOP!!!!!!!

**Xion** |00:49|

Way to go Riku ;)

**Riku** |01:14|

Oh my god

**Xion** |01:16|

~riku!!!!! riku!!!!!!~

**Naminé** |01:17|

Xion STOPPPPPP IT

**Xion** |01:17|

~soraaaaaaaaaaaaa!!~

**Riku** |01:18|  
ok im gonna go die now bye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... that was something. Hoping to update again in a couple days; I have finals tomorrow!
> 
> Visit me on Tumblr @sunshinesoraa <3


	5. Day Four | The Twilight Zone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Four Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwPSG_mKWrBbW__ocNGaq8us7coVKdcq
> 
> 1\. Must Do Disney  
> 2\. Build-A-Lightsaber @ Galaxy's Edge  
> 3\. Tower of Terror POV
> 
> Welcome back!!! It's time for a little less Disney and a little more gay boys talking about their feelings >w<

****

**Day Four  
** **The Twilight Zone**

As it turns out, Sora is a total bed hog. Riku didn’t realize this until he woke up in the middle of the night halfway off of the mattress. He turned around and saw Sora with all of his arms and legs spread out, snoring. _Sora._ And then it hit him. It hit him like he’d just been slapped in the face.

_Holy shit. What the fuck happened last night?_

Sora wasn’t wearing _anything,_ and Riku… _oh my God._ Riku was suddenly very dizzy.

_Okay, get it under control, Riku. Just think._

They’d gone to Epcot. They’d drank around the world. They’d kissed in front of the fountain. They’d… _fuck._ It was not hard to connect the dots. Riku’s pants were still by the door, and the coconut oil that had been tipped over in the night was all but dripping off the bedside table.

If Kairi came banging on the door this morning like she had been doing for the past three days, Riku was _never_ going to hear the end of it. He carefully pulled the blanket from where it was balled by their feet and covered Sora’s sleeping body with it. Sora yawned, turning on his side. _Thank God._ Riku didn’t have the first clue how he was going to face Sora. Maybe he should start with putting pants on.

He turned the faucet on in the bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror. The scratches and nibbles all over his body confirmed what he had already suspected. He turned around, his mouth falling open when the pale skin on his back looked like he’d been attacked by a cat. Riku shook his head, splashing water over his face. Memories started pouring back into him like clips from movies he’d forgotten he saw.

 _“Riku, Riku…”_ and Sora’s constricted face, tiny toes curling into the sheets, chaste kisses and short-winded moans and… _shit._

A small stream of moonlight was pouring through the blinds, illuminating Sora’s sleeping frame. His hair was covering most of his face, and he had squished his cheek into the pillow, making them look more pinchable than they already were. Riku involuntarily let out a fond noise, moving to push Sora’s hair from his eyes. He leaned down and left a kiss where the hair had been. Sora yawned, and Riku did, too.

He could deal with this in the morning. A few more hours of sleep couldn’t hurt.

Riku should have known something was off when Kairi didn’t come bursting through the door at 6AM sharp. The sun was shining through the cracks in the curtains when Riku opened his eyes. Had they overslept? He slapped a hand over to the table, his phone lighting up in response. It was already almost ten. Sora was still soundly sleeping beside him. Riku reached down and picked his shirt up from beside the bed, pulling it over his head. Careful not to wake sleeping beauty, he slid out of the bed, watching Sora, who was clutching a pillow and breathing lightly.  
_He’s even cute when he sleeps._

Riku grabbed his MagicBand, cracked the door and stepped outside. The sun was already shining brightly over Hourglass Lake. Next door, he knocked, and Naminé came almost instantly. “Hey,” she whispered. “Come in.”

Riku stepped into the room and was met with Kairi laying in her bed, wearing nothing but her bra, sash, and some shorts. There was water on the table they had obviously tried to force into her last night and a trash can beside where she’d passed out because of course there was.

“Um… why is she shirtless? And wearing her sash?”

Xion sighed from where she sat cross-legged on the other bed, pinching the bridge of her nose. _“Because_ , she spilled soda on her other shirt, but then proceeded to cry about not having the sash anymore, so we just gave it back.”

Naminé laughed quietly. _“How will everyone know I’m a bride?”_ she whisper-imitated.

The three of them giggled, watching Kairi’s chest rise and fall.

“Wanna go down and get breakfast?” Xion asked.

They left Sora and Kairi in their respective rooms, the three of them pulling their hair back and throwing appropriate clothes on. It was nice to not be running out of the resort before the sun had come up for once. Plus, most everyone was at the parks already, so the dining hall was virtually empty. They opted for a table outside in the sun. Riku made sure to get a plate to take back to Sora. He’d barely sat down before Xion started teasing him.  
“So… you and Sora had a good time last night, huh?” Xion grinned around her fork. Riku threw a grape and hit her in the head. “I was genuinely asking!”

“Really? Well, then allow me to just give you _every_ detail. So, we came back, and- “

“No! No! No thank you!” Naminé put her fingers in her ears.

Riku took a bite. “Sorry if we were loud.”

“It’s fine. We couldn’t really hear anything until the end anyway, because we were dealing with Kairi,” Naminé said.  
“Oh, right. How did that go?”  
Xion shook her head. “Well, we got her out of the park easy enough. But it was like trying to put a toddler to bed.”  
“Honestly,” Naminé agreed. “We finally got her to just lay down and close her eyes, and then she was out in five minutes.”

Riku laughed. “Yeah, she’s always been like that.”

Thankfully, neither Xion nor Naminé brought up the night before again. Instead they opted for lively conversation about Epcot, and the stuff they’d bought and the things they’d seen. Naminé and Xion told Riku the entire story about dragging Kairi back to the resort. Riku was surprised to find they’d spent a whole hour talking before finally getting up to leave. He waved to Naminé and Xion before pressing his MagicBand to the door, cracking it open.

Riku carefully stepped back into the dark room and set the food down on the table, only to find Sora was gone from the bed. He should have figured Sora would leave. Had he not been gentle enough? Should he have stayed this morning? Did he hurt Sora’s feelings? Would he never see him again? Would he-

Sora opened the bathroom door, sticking out his bottom lip when he saw Riku standing there. Riku could have devoured him all over again as he stood there rubbing his eyes, wrapped in a blanket, hair hanging in front of his eyes, until Sora whined out: “Rikuuuuu, my ass hurts…”

Riku shook his head, chuckling. “Here, I brought you some food.”  
“I don’t wanna eat. My tummy’s upset.” 

“Well, you need to eat, or you won’t feel better. I’ll get you some medicine.” Sora was wide awake after eating and graciously taking the pain-relievers Riku offered him. Riku had to dig out a shirt small enough for Sora to wear since he’d ruined his the night before.

“I can’t believe I slept that long,” Sora said.  
“Kairi’s still sleeping too,” Riku responded, leaning back in the chair across from him.

“She probably needs it.”

Sora wouldn’t remove his gaze from the food. It was completely silent other than the sound of the air conditioning and _Must Do Disney_ playing on the TV. Riku bit back his anxiety and started to speak. “Sora…”  
“Don’t say anything.”  
“What?”  
“Don’t apologize,” he said, looking up at Riku. “For last night.”  
“But, Sora…”  
“It’s okay.” Sora swallowed, turning his head to avoid Riku seeing his cheeks warm up. “I enjoyed it.”  
Riku reached across the table and ruffled Sora’s hair. Sora groaned.

“How did no one fuck you before me?” Riku asked. “If you weren’t hurting so much today, I would have ruined you by now.” Sora coughed, setting his fork down.

“Ri-Riku-“  
“It’s just us, it’s okay. But I am curious- what did you do all this time, if not that?”  
Sora smirked. “Well, I mainly just sucked-“  
“ _Okay_ , yes, I registered that last night. Thank you.”  
“You asked.” Sora and Riku shyly smiled at each other before an electronic sound rang out between them. “Your phone,” Sora said.  
“Oh.” Riku reached into his back pocket.

**2 New Messages | Disney Dorks**

**Xion** |11:27|

Kairi’s awake

**Xion** |11:27|

She wants to see u

“You wanna go see Kairi?”  
“Is she up?” Sora’s eyes lit up.  
“Yeah, Xion said she just got up.”  
“Let’s go!”

Xion let the two of them in. Kairi had put a shirt on now and abandoned the sash, but she was still laying in the same spot with a cloth over her eyes.  
“Hey,” Naminé said. “How’d you sleep?”  
“Pretty well,” Sora said, holding his arms behind his head.  
“Is that Sora?” Kairi asked.  
“Yeah. He stayed with me last night,” Riku told her.

“Come here, Sora.” Kairi patted beside her. Sora crawled onto the bed, flopping on his back next to Kairi. “Hand me that bottle.”

“How you feeling, Kai?” he asked, giving her the pain medication. She shook her head, pushing the washcloth off. 

“I don’t think I’m going to the park today,” she said, fishing in the bottle for her third ibuprofen. “But I had suggested hanging out by the pool instead, and I think Naminé and Xion wanna do that, too.”

“Weren’t we supposed to go to Hollywood Studios today?” Riku asked. “I don’t really want to go without you guys.”  
“Yeah. But I don’t really care all that much about Star Wars anyway,” Kairi said.

“But you guys should go,” Xion interjected, smiling a little too hard at Riku. “Besides, neither of you guys wanna look at ladies in bikinis anyway.”

“Sora, do you have to work today?” Kairi asked.  
He shook his head. “No, I’m off today and tomorrow.”

“Riku, take the boy to Hollywood Studios,” Kairi scolded.  
“I never said I wouldn’t!”  
Kairi winked at him. “Then it’s settled.”

Riku had to do his own hair, which was fine with him because he didn’t want to have to bring Kairi the remains of the oil and explain himself. They waved to the girls who were out in the pool on their way to the bus stop. The bus stop was empty, too, since it was midday. Sora squinted into the sun.

“Hey, I need you to hold my hand.”

“Hmm? Why?” Riku asked, lacing his fingers between Sora’s. “You okay?”  
“Yeah. I’m fine,” Sora smiled, squeezing Riku’s hand. “I just needed it.” Riku could get used to clingy Sora. They practically shared a seat on the bus Sora was sitting so close to him.

“So, what do you want to do? Kairi’s the one who made all the itineraries, so…”

“Well, I’ve been wanting to go to Galaxy’s Edge and make a lightsaber!”

Riku had anticipated that Sora would want to spend a good amount of time making his lightsaber, but he had not prepared for how serious he would be about it. They spent a good forty-five minutes digging through the containers trying to find the exact pieces that Sora wanted.  
“You need to make one, too,” Sora said, screwing two cylinders together.  
“Me? Why?”  
“C’mon, they’re cool! Then we can have a fight. I’ll be good, and you’ll be bad.”  
“Why do I have to be the bad guy?”

“’Cause. I want to have the blue one,” he stated. “Here.” Sora handed Riku the red light piece. “Get to work.”

“Am I going to be Darth Vader and you’ll be Luke?”  
“No, I was thinking more like I’ll be Rey and you can be Kylo Ren.”

“Kylo Ren is stupid,” Riku said, digging through the plastic.  
“Don’t talk about yourself like that.”

One hour and too much money later, they came out with their newly created lightsabers. Riku walked indifferently with his, while Sora bounced around, hitting Riku on the shoulder, swinging it back and forth. “Wanna go ride the Tower of Terror?” Sora asked.  
“Sure. What’s the wait time look like?” Sora pulled his phone from his back pocket, opening up the Disney app and scrolling through. He grimaced. “Bad.”  
“How bad?”  
“140 minutes.”

“Ouch. We should’ve gotten a FastPass.”

“Maybe we should wait for a while and see if the line dies down?” Sora suggested.  
“Okay. Let’s find somewhere to sit.”  
“Wait. I wanna get a popcorn bucket first.”

After Sora obtained his popcorn bucket, they found a nice shaded area to sit in. Sitting down felt _nice_ on Riku’s sore legs after having walked almost ten miles every day. “Here, give me that,” Riku took Sora’s lightsaber. “Before you drop your popcorn.”

“Oh.” Sora swung his legs back and forth on the bench, his toes barely reaching the ground. He had a prominent red mark below on his neck below his ear, and Riku just stared at it, guilt threatening to swallow him whole.

“Sora, I didn’t mean for that to happen… last night.”

Sora shrugged. “I didn’t either, but…”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“I told you not to say that. Why are you sorry? I wanted it, too.”

“I didn’t want it to be like that with you,” Riku said, pushing the lightsabers down and tossing them in the bag with the rest of the things they’d bought.

“What do you mean?”

“I wanted it to be different with you. I wanted to take you out. I wanted to at least know what your favorite color was first.”

“It’s blue.”

“Blue, huh?”  
“Yeah.”  
Riku smiled. “I should’ve guessed that from your lightsaber choices.”

Sora leaned back against the bench. “I don’t mind the way it happened.”  
“Why me?” Riku asked. “Why did you let _me_ do it? For your first time?”

“I dunno. I always got scared with everyone else. I wasn’t scared with you.”

“You must not have very good judgement, then. I’m nowhere near good enough for you.” 

Sora shook his head. “It’s weird. Usually, I’m so cautious about these types of things,” he said, fiddling with the handle on the popcorn bucket. “But… it feels different with you.”  
“I’m practically a stranger, Sora. What if I’m a horrible person, or like a serial killer?”  
“You’re not a horrible person, Riku,” Sora responded, looking at Riku out of the corner of his eye. “What’s the wait time now?”

“I’m saying, we barely know anything about each other,” Riku scrolled through the app, refreshing the wait time. “It’s still at 140 minutes.”  
“Sucks.”  
“The only way to get to know each other is to start talking.”

Sora threw a piece of popcorn to the birds. “But what if you find out you don’t like me after all?”

“I doubt I will.”

So they started there. They spent the first hour on that bench doing rapid fire questions: ‘when’s your birthday?’ and ‘what’s your favorite band?’ Riku could sit and listen to Sora talk about things he loved all day, because he adored the way that Sora’s expressions became so animated and he spoke with such passion and his eyes became pure light.

“So you’re twenty-one… isn’t that a little late to still be in college?”  
“I guess it is. I didn’t go to college for a few years after I graduated high school. My family isn’t exactly the wealthiest, so I worked for a while. Finally, I just decided I needed to do this, for myself, and now I’m here, eating popcorn with you.”

“Do you have a lot of family back home?”

“Yeah, I got two older brothers, Ventus and Roxas. They’re identical twins.”  
“Wow, really?” Riku had never met identical twins.  
“Yeah. But they’re total opposites, though, believe me.”

Riku laughed. “How so?”  
“Well, let’s just say that Roxas likes to do a lot of skateboarding, and Ven is more into theatre than skate parks.”  
“Ah, I see,” Riku said, watching the windows of the Tower of Terror open up before dropping the riders back down. “Have you decided yet? Where you want to go to school when you leave Disney?”  
“No, not yet. I don’t want to go back home, that’s for sure.”  
“I get it. I left as soon as I could. But it was nice to come back and be close to everybody again.” _Even if everybody is just Kairi and my mom._

“What did you go to college for?”  
“I went for engineering. It’s not that I’m particularly passionate about it, it was just… something to do.”

“Yeah. I bet Kairi was happy to have you back.”  
“You kidding? She didn’t leave me alone for a week.” Sora smiled at the thought.  
“I hope she loves her fiancé as much as she loves you.” 

“She does. Vanitas is kind of an asshole, but she loves him. I just hope he doesn’t fuck it up, because I don’t particularly like killing people for sport.”  
“You don’t like him?”  
“It’s not that. He’s just not good enough for her. No one is.”

Sora crossed his legs on the bench, squeezing the popcorn bucket in between them. “She’ll be a beautiful bride,” he said.

“Won’t she? I went with her when she picked out the dress. She’s so pretty in it, Sora.”

“She’s lucky to have you,” Sora told him. “Anyone would be lucky to have you.”  
“Nah, I’m not all that. Kairi just puts up with me most days.”

The screams from the ride echoed throughout the park. The sun was shining on Sora’s face, and Riku was trying to act like he wasn’t staring at him wondering how he’d gotten so _lucky_ when Sora looked at him.

“Can I ask you something?”  
“Anything,” Riku said.

Sora bit his lip, searching for the right words. “Riku, does this make me your boyfriend?”  
“Huh?” _Boyfriend?_

“All of this… last night, and today… what does it make us?”  
“I don’t know,” Riku said, staring up at the sky. “I don’t know what any of this is.” 

“It’s Disney magic,” Sora grinned at him, and Riku rolled his eyes.  
“Sure, Sora. We’ll call it Disney magic.” He grabbed one of Sora’s cheeks and squeezed it. Sora wrinkled his nose.

“Stoooooop it, Riku,” Sora cried.  
“You’re too cute,” Riku said, pinching Sora’s cheek. It was getting easier to tell him that.

The line eventually died down, but they never ended up riding the Tower of Terror.  
Riku didn’t mind.

Learning from the previous day’s mistakes, they left the park before the fireworks so they could beat the crowd. They were on the first bus this time, but every seat was still filled. Sora yawned, the lightsaber glowing neon blue in between his legs. Riku stifled a yawn as well. At nearly ten, these busses packed with people quite literally rocked you to sleep. “Hey, ‘ku…” Sora mumbled, rubbing his eyes. “Can I lay on your shoulder?”

His back hurt like hell from all the walking, and he was delicately balancing a bag full of souvenirs on his lap, but despite all that, he still said: “Of course.” A head full of brown hair fell on his shoulder, and he briefly wondered what the other people on the bus thought about them.  
_Riku, does this make me your boyfriend?_ He looked down at the smaller boy.

_I don’t know, Sora. Does it?_

One of Sora’s many talents was falling asleep at the drop of a hat. When the bus pulled into the resort, he was passed out on Riku. “We’re here, Sora,” Riku said, nudging him. Sora whined, pressing his face into Riku’s shoulder. Riku brushed Sora off, standing up. Sora stared at him, eyes half-open. “Come on,” Riku said, holding his arms out. Sora wrapped his arms around Riku’s shoulders, and Riku lifted him up effortlessly. He carried Sora with one arm and the bag of souvenirs on his other and God, he was going to feel this in the morning.

Riku had originally planned on stopping by to check in with the girls, but the light was off in their room when they made it back up to their floor. Riku set Sora down so he could unlock the door, before coaxing Sora inside.

“Come on, Sora,” Riku whispered, setting the bag down. He unbuttoned Sora’s shorts and pulled them off. “You gonna wear that shirt to bed?” Riku asked, tugging on the shirt Sora was wearing, that he himself had worn to sleep a few nights ago. Sora nodded. He walked over to the bed and collapsed on to it, reaching an arm out to Riku. 

“Hang on, Sora, I’m coming.” Riku shuffled through his suitcase for some pajamas and then crawled in next to Sora, who immediately shifted into Riku’s chest.  
“Riku?” _Sora, are you even awake right now?_  
“What is it?”

“I need a kiss.”  
“Oh, you _need_ one?” Riku teased.  
“Yeah. Or else…,” Sora yawned. “I won’t be able to sleep.”  
“We can’t have that, can we?” Sora shook his head, and Riku answered his cry by pushing up Sora’s chin and pressing his lips to Sora’s. Sora smiled into it. “Is that better?” Riku asked, nudging Sora’s nose with his. Sora just pushed his face back into Riku’s shoulder, embarrassed.

Riku didn’t consider himself boyfriend material. He didn’t know what he was supposed to say, or what he was supposed to do. It had always been impossible to figure out. He was never good at anticipating his past partners’ needs or tuning into their emotions. But Sora made all of it come to him so naturally. Riku wasn’t sure how any of this was going to work, but if it consisted of Sora cuddled into his side and feather light kisses and teasing smiles, he figured he’d get used to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has stuck it out this far!!  
> The gang heads to Magic Kingdom next time and Riku meets Mickey Mouse!! <3  
> This is not my favorite chapter, so thanks for reading anyways :,) 
> 
> Come visit me on Tumblr @sunshinesoraa


	6. Day Five | A Pirate's Life for Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Five Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwPSG_mKWrBtJRQ6XcOvqLiBqvQ32ARB  
> 1\. Pirates of the Caribbean POV  
> 2\. Splash Mountain POV  
> 3\. Mad Tea Cups POV (Mad Tea Cups attraction in 3 based off this)  
> 4\. Rain at Magic Kingdom (MK starts at 15:30)  
> 5\. Space Mountain POV
> 
> A quick note on Splash Mountain:  
> I am aware that they have recently decided to change the theme of Splash Mountain from Song of the South to Princess and the Frog. I am thrilled about this! Song of the South is a terribly, terribly racist movie and it is honestly stunning that it’s taken this long for something to be done about it.  
> However, I am trying to keep this fanfic as realistic as possible, and since we don’t know what the ride will look like yet or what it will consist of, the current Splash Mountain is included in this story. I wanted to write to say that I do not in any way, shape or form support the current storyline of Splash Mountain.

**Day Five  
** **A Pirate’s Life for Me**

This was the second night that Riku dreamed of Sora. This time, it wasn’t soft, fuzzy outlines of Sora’s features or unclear voices and rooms. Sora was no longer a mysterious, untouchable person to him. It was crystal clear.

Sora was dressed in a black suit, much like the ones that Kairi had picked out for him and Vanitas, sitting out by the beach Kairi was planning on getting married near. _“Sora?”_

He turned to Riku, a blank expression on his face. _“Riku, do you like me?”  
“What?”  
“If you like me, why won’t you tell me?” _

_“I don’t… understand my feelings, Sora. I don’t know what love is supposed to feel like.”  
“You’ve never been in love?” _he asked, tilting his head. _  
“No… I’ve never been in love.”  
_ Sora turned back towards the water. _“That’s sad, Riku. I wish I could make you fall in love.”_

Riku moved to step towards him. _“Sora, I…”_

Kairi must have been feeling much better, because immediately after the clock turned six, she was at their door. “Get up, you lazy bums! We’ve got a bus to catch!”  
Riku groaned, pushing his hair back and standing to open the door for her. As soon as it swung open, she came running in.

“Kairi, what-“ She jumped on to the bed with Sora, tangling her arms around his neck. “Good morning, Sora!”  
He blinked his eyes open, wrapping his arms around Kairi when he saw her. “’Morning, Kairi,” he smiled, and Riku just stood there half-awake watching them roll around in the bed. Sora giggled as Kairi pushed her face into his hair.  
“Yo,” Xion said, sticking her head into the door Riku was holding open. “Is Sora awake?”  
“Uh, yeah,” Riku said, and Xion and Naminé pushed past him and jumped on top of Kairi and Sora, squealing and yelling and laughing. “Time to get up!” Xion said, laying over Kairi and Sora’s backs.

“We’re going to Magic Kingdom today!” Naminé announced, squished between the three of them.  
“Riiiiiiku, help,” Sora cried, sticking a hand out of the pile of girls. They clambered off of him, and Kairi put her hands on her hips.  
“You’re coming with us today, right, Sora?”

“I’ve already overstayed my welcome,” he said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “I don’t want to sabotage your trip.”

“You kidding? We like you more than Riku,” Xion said.

“Hey!” Riku picked up a pillow and threw it at Xion’s head. This turned into Xion throwing it at Sora, and now Kairi and Riku were standing there watching twenty-year-olds have a pillow fight at six in the morning.

“Wanna come with me to get coffee for everyone?” Kairi asked over the noise.  
“Sure,” Riku said. “Like they need it.”

The two of them quickly got dressed and headed down towards the dining hall. The air was dripping with early morning humidity, and Riku could hear the ferries honking over on Bay Lake. It was refreshing to have a break from the chaos and be in the singular presence of his best friend.

“It’s weird. I didn’t really get to see you yesterday,” Kairi said, holding three reusable cups in her arms. “I missed you.”  
“I know. I was going to come say hey when we got back, but it was so late. Your light was off when we got back at around 10:30.”   
“Mm. Yeah, we went to sleep kind of early. We were exhausted. Naminé and Xion convinced me to be the referee for their races, and you know how determined they can get when they’re competing for something.” Kairi was biting the inside of her cheek like she normally did when she was trying not to spill a secret or ask someone a personal question. “So are you going to tell me what happened with you and Sora?”  
“W-what are you talking about? Nothing happened.”  
“I _read_ the group chat, Riku.”

Well, he couldn’t hide that. “We’re just… friends.”  
“Friends, really?” Kairi said, sarcasm oozing from her tone. “I don’t think that’s true.”

“We were drunk. We talked about it. It wasn’t something either of us really _planned_ on.”

“Well, what happened when you talked about it?”

“I mean, he’s not like, my boyfriend or anything…”

“Come on, talk to me, Riku,” she encouraged, kicking a pebble on the path. “I’m a good listener.”  
Riku sighed. “I’ve still got a lot of thinking to do.”  
“About what?”  
“About Sora. About how I feel about him.”  
“How _do_ you feel about him?”  
Riku shrugged. “I’m conflicted. I… I feel like this is all happening so fast.”  
“It is. But that’s not always a bad thing, Riku.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “I think the only way that you were ever going to find someone is if they threw you in headfirst.”

Riku scoffed. “Why do you think that?”  
 _“Because,_ Riku. You love overthinking things.”  
“I… do not.” He did. Once he’d tried to find the perfect birthday gift for Kairi, and ended up thinking he hadn’t done enough, and brought her five different gifts. Another time, he’d stayed up all night worried he would oversleep and miss his senior project presentation, so he showed up in the school parking lot at five in the morning.

The two of them walked up the stairs leading to the dining hall. “Does he like you?” Kairi asked.  
“I don’t know. I’m not good at figuring out that kind of stuff, Kairi, I’m just… taking it day by day.” Riku moved to open the door but Kairi stepped in front of him.

“Do _not_ break that boy’s heart,” she said, the most serious he might have ever heard her. “He’s way too nice for his own good.” 

“I’m not going to break his heart, Kairi.”  
“You better not.”

Sora was pulling his hair back in the mirror when Riku returned. He _really_ didn’t want to give him the coffee, since he was already bouncing off the walls, but he figured he might actually need it considering that they were about to pull an all-day marathon spanning the entire Magic Kingdom. Kairi led them into the park behind her like a general leading their troops. They stopped at the Main Street Bakery to get something for breakfast while Kairi sat at one of the tables outside, scribbling on to the map with a Sharpie.

The scent inside the bakery was ethereal. They’d smelled it as soon as they entered Main Street USA but being inside the building was a different thing entirely. It smelled like confectioner’s sugar and caramel- it reminded Riku of when his mom used to bake batch after batch of cookies during Christmastime.

“Will you share a big rice krispie treat with me, Riku?” Sora asked, pointing to the Mickey-shaped treat in the glass.  
“For breakfast?” Riku asked.  
“Why not?”  
“Because, that’s dessert not breakfast.”  
“But they’re so good, Riku, you’d like it.”  
So, Riku ate half of Sora’s rice krispie treat while Xion and Naminé opted for muffins instead. It was honestly too sweet for Riku, but he could live with it because Sora was happy. At least he’d been able to convince him to get a bottle of water instead of chocolate milk.

“Alright, game plan guys. We’ll start by going left into Adventureland, and make our way around the circle,” Kairi explained, tracing her finger on the map. “We’re going to hit every ride we can.”  
“All of them? In one day?” Riku asked, staring down the list of attractions.  
“Aw, c’mon, Riku! We can do that!” Sora said, mouth full of marshmallow.

“I’m not so sure…”

But if nothing else, Kairi was determined. If they hadn’t gotten a FastPass for it, they waited in every standby line they could, (60-minute wait or under). While they stood in line, Sora and Riku were sneaking sugar-sweet kisses behind the girls’ backs. Sora’s fingers were unfathomably sticky, but Riku didn’t care. He would never get enough of Sora tugging on his arm to get his attention or pulling him through a crowd, only looking back to give him a wide-mouthed smile meant only for Riku.

Sora was most excited about riding Pirates of the Caribbean. “You really like pirates, huh?” Xion asked, holding up the line standing underneath an air conditioning vent in the queue. Naminé grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her along.  
“Yeah! They’re so cool. I always wanted to be one when I was a kid.” They boarded the boat, and Sora held on to the safety bar with both hands, practically bouncing in place.

When Riku told his mom that they were going to Disney World for Kairi’s bachelorette, she’d immediately launched into stories of Riku at Disney when he was a child. “You won’t understand until you’re a parent yourself, but… seeing the magic through your child’s eyes… it’s indescribable.”

But sitting in that boat beside Sora, eyes wide with wonder and heart full of literal sunshine, he was starting to understand what his mom had meant.

Sora _begged_ for a sword when they got off the ride, and another thing Riku was quickly learning was that it was exceedingly hard to say no to Sora. Xion and Sora sang behind Riku in line to check out. “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!”

“What do you think, Riku? I could be a pirate! I’d be a great pirate!” Sora swung the plastic sword around and Riku was already regretting buying it for him. He didn’t look up from the receipt he was signing. “I don’t know. Personally, I think I’m better at plundering booty.”

Xion walked behind Riku and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Riku? I’m gonna need you to never say that again, okay?”

“Sorry.”

No one was particularly surprised when Naminé had the same aversion to Splash Mountain that she’d had to Expedition Everest.

“No,” Naminé said, crossing her arms. “No way.”  
“Come oooooooon,” Sora cried, tugging at her dress. “We’ll all be there for you!”

“It’s _so_ high, Sora!”  
“I’ll hold your hand,” Xion said, putting an arm around her shoulders.  
“Please?” Kairi begged.

Naminé huffed. _“Fine.”_

And it would have been fine, if the ride hadn’t stopped dead in its tracks on the way up the hill to the big drop. Kairi was in the front, Sora and Riku sat in the middle, and Xion and Naminé were in the very back.

_Looks like Brer Fox and Brer Bear are causing some kind of commotion downstream. Please stay in your boats while we take care of things. Your visit to Splash Mountain will continue in just a bit._

“Are you serious right now?” Xion asked.  
 _“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.”_ Naminé grabbed on to the back of Riku’s shirt.

“Did it have to be _right here?”_ Riku said, trying not to choke on his own shirt collar.  
“This happens all the time. It’s no big deal,” Sora told Naminé, turning around in the log.  
“Oh, that makes me feel _so_ much better,” Naminé said.

“It’s not broken, Nami,” Sora said. “Someone’s probably just getting off up front.”

Kairi moved to face the boys, a devious grin on her face. “Well, since we’re all stuck here, this would be the perfect time for _you guys_ to tell us what’s going on.”

“W-what do you mean?” Riku stuttered. Kairi ignored Riku and looked to Sora.  
“Sora, do you like Riku?”  
“Uh-I, of course I like him, he’s… a great guy.”

“You two, I swear,” Kairi said. “You know we’re not blind. We see you holding hands and kissing when you think no one’s looking.”  
“U-uh, we…” Riku pushed his back against the seat. _Naminé was right. This is a nightmare._

“It’s like this, we just…”

_Please remain seated. Your ride vehicle will begin moving immediately._

The photo going down was the best one yet. Naminé was crying, Xion was laughing. Sora and Riku looked mortified, and you couldn’t even see Kairi because she was still turned around in her seat. The water at the bottom washed up over Kairi, soaking her entire back. _“Holy. Shit.”_

Riku pushed the wet hair from her eyes. “That’s what you get.”

The group moved towards Fantasyland after getting off of Splash Mountain. Luckily, it was the hottest day since they’d been there, so Kairi’s clothes were drying quickly. They passed through Liberty Square, and Kairi was shaking water off of her arms. She stopped in the middle of the path.  
 _“Riku, look.”_

He followed Kairi’s finger, squinting into the sun at the front of the castle. _Oh my god._ He stopped everyone in their tracks, holding his arms out. “Is… is that Mickey? Is that Mickey _fucking_ Mouse?”

“Um, yeah,” Sora said. “He’s always taking photos there.”

The line was hopelessly long, but all five of them stood in it just so that Riku could sheepishly walk up to Mickey.

“Get his autograph! Go on!” Kairi stood behind the photographer with her phone, taking pictures like Riku was her six-year-old son.  
“Here, Mickey,” Riku said, handing him the pen. The large gloved hand took it from him, scribbling down a signature while Riku just blinked at him. Xion was standing there incredulously with her mouth open, while Sora and Naminé cackled.  
“Shut up!” Kairi scolded. “He loves Mickey Mouse, okay?!”

“Pffffft,” Naminé and Sora only laughed louder.  
“Don’t listen to them, Riku,” Kairi said, turning her phone to get a portrait photo. “Give him a hug!”

Mickey patted Riku on the back. The five of them took a picture with Mickey, and Mickey pointed to Kairi’s pin. “I’m getting married in three weeks,” she told him, and he clapped his hands together.

After about an hour of waiting in line for Mickey and then letting Riku get his fill of him, at long last, they reached Fantasyland. There were hundreds of little girls dressed up as princesses, and Riku almost died watching Sora greet each one as if they were _real_ princesses. “Your highness!” he’d say, getting down on one knee. The little girls would giggle and spin in their dresses.

“Let’s go on the Mad Tea Cups!” Kairi said, jumping up and down. Kairi and Sora were the only ones who really wanted to ride the teacups, so they went by themselves. The only glimpse you could catch of them were in passing; spinning faster than every other cup around them. Riku leaned on the iron gate surrounding the ride, fondly watching the two best things that had ever happened to him. “Hi guys!” Kairi yelled.  
“I’m going to be sick just looking at you two!” Xion yelled back.  
“You can go faster than that!” Naminé encouraged, pulling a piece off of Xion’s cotton candy.  
Sora tried taking Kairi’s hand when the ride stopped, but they both ended up falling and tumbling out of the ride. They were both acting strikingly similar to the way they’d behaved at Epcot the other night.

They laughed and laughed and laughed, Kairi falling forward holding her sides. Looking at Sora and Kairi, it almost looked like they could have been friends their whole lives. What if he’d met Sora under different circumstances, back home? Would he and Kairi have gotten along? Would they gossip about Riku when they hung out? Would Riku have taken him to Kairi’s wedding?

Would he have fallen in love with Sora?

It rained that afternoon at the Magic Kingdom, just like it always does in the heat of summer. It came pouring down out of nowhere, in the middle of Fantasyland, and they ran through the storm laughing and for some reason Riku couldn’t imagine being happier for the rest of his life. Kairi grabbed one of Riku’s hands, and Sora took the other, and for the smallest moment, it felt like Sora was meant to be a part of them. He just fit. He fit perfectly in between Kairi and Xion when they were being wild, and he fit in with Naminé when she was admiring skillful architecture or awe-inspiring animation, and his fingers fit in between Riku’s like they’d always belonged there. The five of them stood underneath an alcove in Tomorrowland, dripping wet hair and sticky skin, waiting for the seasonal storm to pass.

Sora shook the rain from his hair like a dog, spraying all of them in the process. And it was strange, because it was like Riku was _trying_ to find something he didn’t like about Sora, but he couldn’t. Riku’s first boyfriend had been an older boy named Cloud, that Kairi had set him up with after she met him in a sociology class. During his relationship with Cloud, Riku spent a lot of time thinking about the things he didn’t like about him, but Riku’s current thoughts were occupied by the things he _loved_ about Sora.

He loved it when Sora was a little childish, but still wise all the same. He loved his ability to care for others so fearlessly and wholeheartedly. He loved how when they ate dinner that night, he offered every single person a bite of what he was eating before he even took one. He loved how he pointed at every star and planet in the Space Mountain line like he was seeing them for the first time.

Riku had a hard time getting used to people. He struggled to connect with others, see past their human flaws; see the good in them.  
But Sora made it impossibly easy.

After riding Space Mountain and getting Kairi a glow-in-the-dark wand, they decided to tap out. It was nine at night, and Xion had been complaining about her legs hurting for the past hour.  
“Well, Kairi… we really did it,” Riku said. “I think we only missed two rides.”  
“You shouldn’t have doubted me,” she said, as they walked past security at the front of the park.  
“We really did get a lot covered,” Naminé said. “It was pretty great. Even if we did get caught on Splash Mountain.”

Riku leaned on the railing by the bus stop, moaning in pain. “What’s wrong?” Kairi asked, tapping him with her wand.  
“I think… _ah,”_ he pushed one foot out of his shoe. “I think I wore the wrong shoes.”

Multiple people had warned him about the blisters, but he’d never anticipated it would be anything like this. Since around three, the back of his shoe had been tearing his ankles to shreds. Being forced to run everywhere only aggravated it. He was practically _limping_ once they made it back to the resort, gritting his teeth every time the back of his shoe rubbed against the raw skin. “Just take your shoes off, Riku,” Naminé said.

“…no, I’m… fine,” Riku responded, shuffling his feet on the concrete.

“I can’t believe we’ve only got two days left,” Kairi sighed, her light-up wand illuminating the path in front of them. 

“I know. I’m so sad,” Naminé responded, taking a handful of popcorn from Sora’s bucket. He’d been eating popcorn the whole ride home.

“You leave in two days?” Sora asked. “I guess you do.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow, right, Sora?” Xion asked.  
“I have to go back to work tomorrow. But I could meet up with you guys later in the night or something.”  
“They’re doing Movies Under the Stars. We should go to that,” Kairi said.  
“Okay,” Sora answered, snapping the lid on the popcorn bucket. Kairi moved from where she was walking beside Riku to stand by Sora.  
“I’m really gonna miss you, Sora,” Kairi frowned, linking her arm with his.  
Sora pressed his head on top of Kairi’s. “I’m gonna miss you guys, too…”

“None of that,” Xion scolded. “We still have time.”  
“Yeah. We still have time,” Sora repeated.

They piled into the elevator and it’s almost like Riku could _feel_ Sora’s demeanor change. _I don’t think I said anything wrong. Did I?_ He wasn’t joking with Kairi, he wasn’t annoying Xion, he wasn’t holding Riku’s hand. When they said goodnight to the girls, he merely gave them all hugs and walked back into Riku’s room.

Sora continued acting strangely. Riku stood in the bathroom tending to the wounds on his feet, and Sora moved around the room so softly he wouldn’t have known he was there if Riku wasn’t constantly focused on him. He pulled on another one of Riku’s shirts, and laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. “You alright?” Riku asked, lying next to him.  
“Yeah. I’m okay,” he said, but he didn’t sound so sure. If it had been anyone else, Riku wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but it was Sora. Outgoing, voluble, carefree Sora, who was now looking somewhat on the verge of tears beside him.  
“Just don’t wanna go back to work tomorrow?”  
Sora nodded, like he was considering this. “That must be it.” Sora pulled the blanket up to his chin. Riku could normally read him like an open book. He was hoping he could tap into the same instincts he’d had the day before to figure out what Sora needed.

“Do you want me to hold you?” Riku asked, but Sora didn’t budge.  
“No. I’m okay.”

“Do you need a kiss?”  
He shook his head, turning on his side away from Riku. Riku was sure he was reading into it, but it almost looked like Sora trembled. He started to reach out a hand to touch Sora’s back, but retracted it.

Regardless, his answers told Riku everything he needed to know.

Sora was not okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come visit me on Tumblr @sunshinesoraa <3


	7. Day Six | Something There That Wasn't There Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Six Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwPSG_mKWrBvh8aUpXYmbNondg6YrOut
> 
> 1\. World of Disney @ Disney Springs  
> 2\. Something There (Beauty & the Beast)
> 
> Thank you!!!!!!  
> From the bottom of my heart, thank you to every single person who has read, commented, or left kudos up to this point. I have loved writing this. There’s one update after this one, (two chapters at once, it’s important they go up together), so hopefully that will be ready in a few days.  
> Again, thank you so much. You have my whole heart.

**Day Six  
** **Something There That Wasn’t There Before**

When Riku woke up the next morning, Sora was already gone. The bed was cold, and Riku hadn’t realized how much warmth Sora brought until he wasn’t there. He’d left him a note on a piece of Disney stationary, telling him that he’d see him later. Riku picked up the note fondly, thinking about Sora writing it before he left. He grazed his fingers over Sora’s handwriting, tracing the neat lines and curves. He felt like an infatuated teenage boy; picking up one of his shirts that Sora had worn and putting it on just because it smelled like him.

Not wanting to bask in the his newfound loneliness long, Riku made his way over to the girls’ room. “Morning, Riku,” Kairi smiled at him, pushing a few pieces of his hair down flat. “Sora gone already?”  
“Yeah,” he said. “He had to go back and get his uniform before he went to work.”

“Oh, okay. Are you ready to go?”

“I think so.”  
“Missing your boyfriend, Riku?” Xion asked, poking him in the stomach.  
“Yeah,” Riku said, not missing a beat. “I am.”

The four of them walked down towards the bus stop. Riku had wanted to go by and see Sora before they left for Disney Springs, but he wasn’t at the counter where he usually was. _Huh. Maybe his shift started later._ Nevertheless, Riku was looking forward to a break from the parks, even if that meant being dragged around shopping. He knew he would get to see Sora tonight. Still, Riku couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with him.

The ride to Disney Springs seemed… empty. Naminé, Xion and Kairi were still unstoppable forces on their own, but it wasn’t the same without Sora. He missed Sora’s feet swinging in front of his seat, and his stupid popcorn bucket he loved so much. Kairi held his hand in place of Sora’s, which was still okay, but it didn’t send electricity up his arm. It didn’t make his heart feel like it could bleed out onto the dirty bus floor.

Disney Springs, (formerly Downtown Disney), was the largest shopping center that Riku had ever been to. It was a park in its own right. Their first stop was World of Disney, where they picked up all the things they’d considered buying in the parks but never got around to getting. Naminé was on the lookout for the biggest Eeyore possible. Xion wanted a black spirit jersey like the one Sora had worn to Epcot. Kairi wanted to get a magnet to put on the fridge in her and Vanitas’ apartment, and Riku… Riku wanted to buy something for Sora.

He wasn’t sure _why,_ considering everything he could get him Sora had access to all the time, anyway. Riku wanted to see joy in Sora’s face after last night. He needed him happy. It was an insatiable hunger. He followed the girls around for a little while, trying to get an idea. Kairi made him go to the jewelry counter with her to find some earrings to wear to her wedding. “What do you think, Riku?” she asked. “Which ones?”  
Kairi pointed down to the two sets of earrings, but Riku couldn’t stop looking at one thing in particular. _Sora would love that._ “Riku?”  
“Oh, um, I like the silver ones.”  
“Me too. I’ll get those.”

Riku stuck his hands into the pockets of his shorts, finding the sticker Sora had given him on the first day was still in there. He squeezed it tight in his fist. They joined Xion and Naminé while they dug through the stuffed animals, desperately looking for the correct-sized Eeyore.  
“No, not big enough,” Naminé said, throwing one of the Eeyores behind them. “Keep looking.”

“You okay, Riku?” Kairi asked, shifting the basket on her arm.

“I think I should get something for Sora,” Riku said before he could stop the words from coming out.  
“I think that would be really nice, Riku,” Kairi rested her head on his shoulder. “What were you thinking?”  
“I’ll show you. Stay here,” Riku said to Xion and Naminé. “We’ll be right back.”  
“Okay, _dad,”_ Xion said.

Riku led Kairi to the back of the store, pointing down into the glass case.  
“Oh,” she said, leaning in to get a better look. “A crown necklace?”  
“Yeah. I don’t know, it just… seems like something he’d like.”  
Kairi rocked on her heels. “You’d know best, Riku.”

“Yeah, but like… what do you think?”  
“I think he’d love anything you gave him.” Kairi always knew the right things to say. “I like it. Get it.”

It took about twenty minutes for Kairi to talk him into actually buying it, but he eventually did. When they returned to where Naminé and Xion had been, they were gone. “I told them to stay put,” Riku groaned, running his hands over his face.  
“They’ve gotta be here somewhere,” Kairi said. “Let’s look around.”  
They looked in every section, in every line, in every corner, and Xion and Naminé were nowhere to be found. _I already have to worry about Sora, now I get to worry about Xion and Naminé._

Kairi and Riku found their way to one of the exits, surveying their surroundings outside, but there was still no sign of the two. He had turned his back for one second, and Xion and Naminé were gone. Riku wasn’t sure how they’d gotten out of his sight, but they had. He sighed. It was hard for him not to feel responsible for everyone’s safety. He’d always been like that. He’d broken his leg in seventh grade trying to rescue Kairi from the top of the monkey bars.

“I’m sure they’re fine, Riku,” Kairi said. “You wanna go sit by the water for a bit?”

There was a bench not too far from the front of the store, so Riku sent a message to the group chat and sat down beside Kairi. The sound of the water lapping against the concrete barrier was comforting to him. It reminded him of home.

“They love running away together.”  
“Yeah,” Kairi said, setting her bag down. “I think they’re a _thing.”_  
“What? A thing? You mean like, you think they’re _together?”_  
“Just this feeling I got. I could be wrong.”  
“Wow. I’m a little slow on the uptake when it comes to these things, huh?”

“Yeah, a little bit,” she grinned, poking Riku in the side.

Kairi’s red hair blew back in the wind. She watched the water in the lake shift directions.

“I can’t believe it’s almost over,” Riku said.

“The trip? I know. It’s been so much fun.”  
Riku wasn’t sure where it came from, but his throat got tight, and the words he was ready to say next came out a little pinched. “I don’t want to leave him.” Kairi looked at Riku sympathetically. “I… really like him, Kai.”

“I know you do. I can tell.”  
“How can you tell?”  
“I’ve never seen you look at someone like you look at him,” she said, tearing open a pack of gummy bears she’d just bought. “In twenty years. I’ve never seen that.”  
“Am I crazy? Like, when I say we just met, we _just_ met. I don’t believe in love at first sight. But…” Kairi placed her hand over Riku’s. “…maybe I’m starting to.” Kairi’s heart _swelled._ This was the first time she had ever heard Riku talk so openly about his feelings. She leaned against the bench, letting her head fall back.  
“You know, when I met Vanitas, I hated him.”  
“Mm. Hard to imagine anyone _hating_ Vanitas.”

“Be quiet and listen to my story.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Riku reached into Kairi’s bag and stole a gummy bear.

“I _hated_ him. He was so obnoxious and loud. I dreaded having to go to that class every day and see him, and it was just the first semester. But… when we left the building one day, I fell down the stairs outside. I scraped my knees so hard, there was so much blood. And he came running over and used his jacket to stop the bleeding. Right before he told me that I was hopelessly clumsy.”

“Well, you are.”

“Okay, yes, I _know_ that. That’s not the point.”  
“Then what is your point?”  
“My point is: it sucked falling down the stairs that day. It hurt. I never would have _chosen_ to fall. But if I hadn’t, would I never have seen that side of Vani? Would we never have ended up here? You can’t write off the things happening between you and Sora as purely coincidental.” Kairi turned her head to look at Riku. “It’s okay to feel like it’s fate.”

Riku rolled a gummy bear between his thumb and forefinger. “Sora says it’s Disney magic.”

“Does he?” Kairi smiled. “He’s a cutie.”

“Yeah,” Riku nodded. “Isn’t he?”

It was overcast now. The air had gained a certain edge to it, full of anticipation, and Riku knew what he wanted to ask next. “Should I tell him I like him?”

“ _Yes_ , Riku. You should tell him. But I think he already knows that.”

“I don’t think he does.”  
“He _does.”_

Riku sighed, leaning up on the bench. “I shouldn’t be asking you about this, it’s your trip, Kairi.”  
“Riku, do you know how many times you spoon-fed me ice cream in bed when I got my heart broken? It’s the least I can do.” That was true. Riku didn’t have enough hands to count the numbers of times that he chewed out some random guy and then spent the night in Kairi’s room, bringing gentle bites of sweets to her while she cried and yelled about the boys who had done her wrong. He never once regretted beating the shit out of Seifer when he broke up with her the day before senior prom. For all of the things that he didn’t like about Vanitas, at least he treated Kairi like a princess.

“Why am I so bad at this, Kairi?”  
“You’re not bad at it. You’re getting better every day. Sora is… a good thing for you.”  
“Then why does it feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest?” Riku held a hand to his shirt, grabbing at the fabric there.  
“Because, Riku. You lo-“

“Hey _ladies_ ,” Xion greeted, Naminé in tow. “Are we interrupting something?”  
Riku spun around in his seat. “Where the _fuck_ have you two been?”  
“I think he means, ‘hey, we were looking for you,’” Kairi said.  
“Chill. We just went to the LEGO store,” Xion explained. “Gonna build this Minecraft set later. Looks like it’s going to rain, though. Maybe we should head on.”

A clap of thunder shook the sky above them. Riku stood. “Yeah. Good idea.”

Sora still wasn’t where he was supposed to be when they returned from Disney Springs. _Now_ Riku was concerned. “Have you guys seen Sora today?” Riku asked in passing, trying to sound as casual as possible. It still sounded anxious.  
“Mm, I don’t think so,” Naminé said. “They might have just sent him somewhere else today.”  
 _No. That’s not it._ “Yeah. Maybe.”

“Wanna go grab some lunch while we’re down here?” Kairi asked the group.  
“Yeah, I’m starved,” Xion said, petting her belly.  
“I think I’m okay,” Riku said. “I’m just going to head back to my room.” He kept staring into the lobby, hoping that Sora would appear from the back room.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Kairi asked, furrowing her eyebrows at him. “You need to eat something. You haven’t eaten all day.”  
“I’m really not hungry, Kairi,” he said. “You guys go ahead.”

Kairi frowned but let him go. “Alright. I’ll text you when we’re back.”

Riku walked back to the room with his hands in his pockets, the necklace he’d bought for Sora snug beside the sticker. He was running out of time. The passion was consuming him inch by inch, tearing him apart and putting him back together into an unrecognizable person: Sora’s person. _I have to tell him._

He started his thought process at the table in his room, face in his hands. The entire room was painted with ghostly images of Sora: Sora dancing, Sora eating, Sora sleeping, Sora… Riku stood up and started pacing instead.

_Sora, I have to tell you something. Something important._

Was Sora upset with him? Is that why he hadn’t seen him all day?

_Sora, I’ve never met anyone like you, I…_

He sat back down at the table, pressing his palms into his eyes. 

_Practice, Riku._

_Sora, I feel…_

_Sora, I think that I…_

_Sora, you’re…_

“Shit,” Riku pressed his head into the table. “Fuck. Fucking hell.” Rain pounded against the roof of the building, and Riku turned his head, resting his cheek on the wood.

When he was little, he used to get frustrated and throw fits at his mom. She would tell him no, and he would stomp his little toddler feet on the floor, screaming in objection. She would calmly come to him and squat down to his level, asking: “Are you having a hard time with your feelings? It’s hard to put feelings into words sometimes, huh?”

“Y-yeah,” he’d say.  
“Big feelings are hard to explain. I understand why you’re frustrated.”

_Big feelings._ Yeah. These were big feelings.

The problem was that every time he looked at Sora, he took _everything_ from him. He took the air out of his lungs, he took the blood from his veins, stopped his beating heart. How was he supposed to confess to him if he had a hard time just being _near_ him?

 _Don’t you break his heart,_ Kairi had told him.

_What about my heart, Kairi?_

_He’s going to break my heart._

Riku’s inner turmoil continued for the next few hours. The storm came and went. Part of him kept expecting Sora to show up at his door: soaked from the rain, breathing heavy from running, begging Riku to _hold him._ But Sora never came.

Kairi came, though, thirty minutes before they were due to meet up with Sora. Riku was aware that he looked like shit, because when he’d gone to put his swimsuit on, he’d caught a glimpse of his bloodshot eyes in the mirror.  
“Riku…,” Kairi breathed, empathy thick in her voice.

“I’m okay,” he said, harsher than he’d meant. He cleared his throat, trying again. “I’m okay,” he told her, squeezing Kairi’s shoulder. “Let’s just go.”

Naminé and Xion exchanged doubtful looks. He _would_ be fine in just a minute, as soon as he saw Sora. He’d be fine.

The world was still a little wet from the storm, but the movie hadn’t been cancelled. Kairi, Naminé, and Xion were talking about the plans for tomorrow. “I hope it doesn’t rain us out of the fireworks,” Naminé said, scrolling through her weather app. Riku carried all of their towels, completely blocking out the conversation. He hadn’t been this nervous to see Sora since the first day they’d met. Sora was supposed to meet them in front of the pool at seven, but he didn’t show.  
“I’m sure he’ll be here in a second, Riku,” Kairi tried soothing him, but Riku couldn’t bite back the dread. It was overwhelming. Something was wrong. After thirty minutes, he stood. “I’m going to go look for him.” Kairi opened her mouth to argue, but Riku was already gone.

_Where is he?_

Every intrusive thought that had been plaguing his mind all day was now replaced with nothing but _Sora._

_Sora._

_Sora._

He wasn’t in the lobby, he wasn’t by the pools, he wasn’t near Riku’s room. He had searched almost every square inch of that resort. _Maybe he’s really not here._ Riku was about to give up and turn back when he finally found him pacing near the back of the property. “Sora?” Sora violently wiped his face on his arm upon seeing Riku.

“Sora! What happened? Where have you been?”

Sora turned away, both trying not to cry in front of him and also not wanting to see Riku standing there, shirtless. He swallowed the memory of that same person leaning over him two nights prior telling him how _good_ he was. “We shouldn’t have done this,” Sora said, walking down the pathway. “I’m sorry.”

“Sora, wait. Stop.” Sora ignored him and continued running away. “Sora!” Riku chased after him until they reached the end of the resort, only populated with the lake and benches. “Sora, stop!” Sora shook his head in protest, but Riku reached out and caught him by the wrist. “Why do you think that? What did I do?” Sora tried tugging against Riku’s grip to no avail. “Please, just tell me what I did!” He turned and took a deep breath in to spit an argument at Riku, but it came out in the form of a broken sob, and he pressed a hand to his mouth, feeling the tears stinging his eyes. “Sora…”

Riku pulled Sora back by the wrist he was holding, bringing him into a tight embrace. Selfishly, Riku was reveling in the feeling of having Sora in his arms again. Sora’s hair tickled his face, and Riku tried to memorize the sickly-sweet smell of him. Sora sobbed out loudly, _painfully,_ and Riku could physically _feel_ his heart break in two. _No. Sora. Don’t cry._

“I’m so stupid,” Sora wailed.  
“Don’t say that.”

“I am,” Sora said, shaking in Riku’s arms. “I’m so, so, dumb.”  
“Why, Sora?”

“You’re…,” another sob escaped his lips, “…leaving in two days…”

Riku nodded, brushing Sora’s hair back from his forehead. “Yeah?”  
“…and I… I’m so… sad.” Sora was _bawling._ “You can’t leave, Riku. Don’t go. Y-you can’t go…” Riku wanted to cry, too. Sora was the most broken he’d ever heard a person.  
“Oh, Sora,” Riku said, pushing Sora into his shoulder to muffle his cries. “I’m sad, too. That doesn’t make you stupid.”  
“It does, b-because, I…” Riku leaned his head down by Sora’s to hear him better. “…I-I like you too much.”

_Oh._

“Sora…”  
 _Tell him. Tell him you feel the same way._ He wanted to. He wanted to tell him that Sora was _everything_ to him. But he couldn’t. Sora was shaking apart in his arms, and he _knew_ that if he told him right then and there, it would fix it all, but he still couldn’t bring himself to say it.  
 _Fuck. Why is this so hard for me?  
What the fuck is wrong with me? _  
“I’m sorry,” Sora cried. “So, so, so sorry.”

“You don’t have any reason to be sorry, Sora.”

Sora let out the saddest cry that almost sounded more like a squeak than a sob, and Riku pushed Sora back to hold his face in his hands.

“Come on, let’s go see the movie. Okay? No more crying. I’m here now, baby.” Sora nodded into his hands, tears wetting Riku’s fingers. Riku kissed Sora’s salty lips, willing his pain away. Sora’s chest heaved. “R-Riku…” 

Sora followed him slowly back to the front of the resort. Riku pushed the gate to the pool open, waiting for Sora to shuffle in behind him. They found an empty chair across from where Riku had been sitting with Kairi, Naminé, and Xion. He figured Sora wouldn’t want to be around them right now. Riku sat down first, gesturing for Sora to sit with him. “Come here.” Sora wiped his face on his arm, and sat down in front of Riku, between his legs. Sora leaned on his chest, hiccupping broken breaths. “It’s okay,” Riku said, running a hand down Sora’s arm. 

Kairi was watching Riku from across the pool, giving him a questioning look. She reached over and pulled her phone out of her bag.

**Kairi** |20:49|

Where was he????

**Kairi** |20:49|

Is he ok??

**Riku** |20:50|

He’s just a little upset right now

**Riku** |20:50|

I’ll explain later

**Kairi** |20:51|

Poor baby :(

**Kairi** |20:51|

Tell him I love him <3

“Kairi says she loves you,” Riku tells him, and Sora holds up a heart to her with his hands. She holds one back to him.  
They played Beauty and the Beast that night. Luckily, it was one of Sora’s favorites, so he eventually calmed down enough to listen. Surprisingly, Riku found himself paying attention, too, especially to a particular song in it that had never had any meaning to him, until now.

_New, and a bit alarming, who’d have ever thought that this could be?_

_There may be something there that wasn’t there before…_

Sora had one of Riku’s hands in his, absentmindedly messing with his fingers. Sora was immensely warm against his chest, humming the tunes to all the songs. Riku forced himself to focus on Sora’s gentle breathing and soft skin rather than the inevitable goodbye they were going to face tomorrow. Riku closed his eyes and rested his head on top of Sora’s spikes.

_Sora._

_I like you too much, too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visit me on Tumblr @sunshinesoraa <3


	8. Day Six and a Half | I Won't Say I'm In Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Six and a Half Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwPSG_mKWrDWsBUDsSC1PHa6sE-tq64t  
> 1\. I Won't Say I'm In Love (Hercules) 
> 
> *sighs*  
> So, I know that I said that the next update would be the last one, but here I am. The NEXT update will have to be the last one, because, well… 
> 
> Me: I’m only writing one piece of smut for this one  
> Also me, at 2AM: soriku phone sex 
> 
> Yes, this is an excuse to write more smut, but I also realized there was more plot to wrap up than I had originally thought. 
> 
> This is Day 6.5 Final Mix. Enjoy.

**Day Six and a Half  
I Won’t Say I’m In Love**

Despite everything, Sora still decided to go back to the college complex that night. “You don’t have to go,” Riku reminded him, throwing their used towels into the return bin.   
“No, it’s okay. I need to get back anyway. I have some work to do.” That wasn’t true, but Sora just didn’t know what else to tell him.  
“Okay. Yeah, well, school comes first. I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”  
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

It was the first time they’d slept apart since they hooked up four days ago. Riku hated to admit that he felt a little melancholy, lying there in the empty, cold spot where Sora used to sleep. _I want to talk to Kairi. I need to talk to Kairi._ It was a desperate move, he knew, but he texted her anyway.

**Riku** |23:58|

You still awake?

**Kairi** |23:58|

Yeah

**Kairi** |23:58|

Xion and Naminé won’t stop making jokes

**Kairi** |23:58|

They laugh like hyenas

**Kairi** |23:58|  
  
What’s up?

Riku’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. If he was being desperate, he might as well go ahead and tell her the truth.

**Riku** |23:59|

I miss him

**Riku** |23:59|

And I wish he was here

**Riku** |00:00|

I shouldn’t have let him go, he was so upset

**Kairi** |00:02|

Open ur door

Riku flipped the blankets off, turned on the light, and opened the door. Kairi was standing there in her pajamas. “What happened?” she asked, coming inside the room and sitting across from Riku, cross-legged on the bed.  
Riku sighed, running a hand through his hair, plopping back down in his spot. “I went to go and look for him, and… he was just _crying,_ Kai…” Riku shook his head. “He’s so torn apart about us leaving. He kept telling me he was stupid.”  
“Stupid? Why?”  
“Because he said he _‘liked me too much.’”_

Kairi deadpanned. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “….and you told him that you like him too, right?” Riku didn’t answer. _“Right?”_

“I couldn’t do it, Kairi! I don’t know why, I just-“ Kairi hit him in the head with her phone. “Ow!”

“Riku, you are _so,_ completely, irrevocably clueless.”  
“I don’t know why I’m so bad at this, Kairi. I feel like I’m fucking it all up.” Riku sniffed, biting his lip to keep from overflowing with emotion. “I can’t lose him.”

She sighed, taking Riku’s hand. For someone so emotionless on the outside, Riku was replete with feeling sometimes.  
“You have one day. You have one day left to tell him how you feel,” she said. “Or as they say, _forever hold your peace.”_

What was he supposed to say? What could he say to convince Sora that he wanted to be with him, even when their trip was over? Explain that he _does_ like him too, he’s just helpless? How was he supposed to wrap up all of the things that Sora made him feel into a few cohesive sentences?

Movies and books made this part look so easy. It was supposed to just come to you out of nowhere, and you’d know the exact right thing to say to make them fall in love with you. _Maybe that is how it is, and I’m just broken._

She could sense his conflict, so Kairi crawled up towards Riku on the bed, laying her head in his lap.

“Riku… do you remember that time in the third grade when I kissed you underneath the jungle gym?” Kairi asked.  
“Yes,” he said. “We were playing house, like we always did. I thought you were just playing a part.”  
“You were so sure of yourself then. Do you remember what you said to me?”  
“Not really, Kairi, that was fifteen years ago.”  
“You said, clear as day: ‘I love you as a friend, but I like guys.’”

“Okay. And?”  
“If you could articulate your words that well back then, you can do it now.”

“Can I?”  
“Yes. You can. As soon as you decide to stop being afraid of _feeling_ something.”

Is that what this was? Fear?

Kairi reached up and squeezed Riku’s cheeks in one hand. “Stop brooding, okay? You wanna make some drinks?”   
“Yeah. I’d like that.”

They tiptoed across the hall, opening the door to the sight of Naminé and Xion tanged in each other’s arms. “Maybe you were right after all,” Riku whispered, taking Sora’s gifted vodka bottle off the table. Kairi shrugged, smitten at the sight of her two best friends. They walked to the vending machine on their floor to get juices and soda before returning to Riku’s room. Kairi talked endlessly about the wedding, and Sora, and the trip so far. It was like when they had sleepovers as kids. Riku’s mom used to love it when Kairi would come over. She’d make a huge dinner and spend the first half of the night asking Kairi about every aspect of her life. Riku’s mom had wanted a daughter, but the two of them were so close growing up, it was almost like she had one.

“You guys have any snacks in here?” Kairi asked, opening up the mini fridge. Sora had spent so much time here, Kairi still thought of it as Riku _and_ Sora’s room.  
“Just a bunch of shit we bought in the Japan pavilion,” he said, tossing the large Disney Parks bag to Kairi.  
“What, did you buy the whole store?” she smiled, losing her balance from the weight of it.

So, that’s how they ended up sitting cross-legged on Riku’s bed, eating ramen at one in the morning.  
“I like these new chopsticks,” Kairi said.  
“Sora picked them out.”

Kairi tore the paper off the top of the ramen cup. “Hey.”

“What?”

“I’m nervous about getting married,” Kairi admitted.

“Why? This is all you’ve talked about for months.”

“What if I regret it?” she asks, moving the chopsticks around in the cup. “What if I don’t like being married?”  
“Kairi, you love Vanitas. You won’t regret it.”

She sighed. “I know. Maybe I’m just stressed about what’s next.”  
“You aren’t excited at all?” Riku asked, tapping her foot with his. “I know you are.”

“A little. I was looking forward to this trip, but after it’s over, all that’s left is crunch time until the wedding. There’s so much left to do. I haven’t figured out who’s making the cake. Naminé still has decorations left to make…”  
“Naminé has really done _so_ much.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without her.”   
“Stop stressing yourself out. This is your trip.”  
She smiled, nodding. “You’re right.” Satisfied, Riku went back to eating, before Kairi looked at him with that shit-eating grin again, and he knew he was in for it. “What.”  
 _“Since_ this is my trip, why don’t you tell me _all_ about what’s happened with you and Sora?”  
“What do you mean? The whole story?”  
“Yes,” she said, eager. _“The whole story.”_

Riku had the best time retelling the story to Kairi. She watched him, wide-eyed, as he explained the sticker he’d had in his pocket for almost a week, and then wrapped her legs up to her chest, completely enamored, while he told her about their kiss at the fountain.  
“I can’t believe I missed that.”  
“Do you even remember sitting on the fountain with me?”  
“Oh, did I?”

Riku laughed. “Yeah, Kairi. You did.”

“Why didn’t you tell me all this earlier? You just made my story about meeting Vanitas seem dumb.”

“It wasn’t a dumb story. I thought it was pretty cute.”  
“Yeah, _whatever,”_ she smiled, throwing a Hi-Chew at him. “Let’s play a game.”  
“A game?”  
“Yeah. Like when we were kids.”  
Riku unwrapped the candy that had been thrown at him. “What did you have in mind?”  
“Truth or dare.”  
“Fine. But you go first.” Kairi and Riku played truth or dare at least once a week when they were younger. Kairi found it to be an efficient way to get thoughts out of Riku’s head.  
Kairi sat up on her knees. “Okay. Truth or dare?”  
“Truth,” Riku said.  
“Chicken.”  
“I am not chicken. I don’t always have to choose dare. Just ask me something.”  
“Fine. What’s your _favorite_ thing about Sora?”  
That was a hard truth. Everything about Sora was his favorite thing. Riku bit the inside of his cheek and crossed his arms across his chest. “Huh. Um…” He scrolled through his mental index of _favorite things about Sora,_ and it was an extensive list. “Probably… his smile.”  
“Why’s that?” Kairi asked, ready to listen.  
“He just… every time he smiles, his nose gets all crinkled up, and he’s got all those freckles on his cheeks, and…”

Kairi was looking at him _so_ fondly, and Riku turned bright red and shook his head. “Nevermind. His smile.”  
“Aw, don’t be like that,” she teased, punching his arm.

“Whatever. It’s your turn. Truth or dare.”

Kairi chose dare, like she always did, so Riku dared her to go take a picture of Xion and Naminé and send it to the group chat so they would see it in the morning. “That’s it?” she asked, already halfway off the bed. “No problem.”

She stood on her tiptoes at the end of the bed, _praying_ that the flash wouldn’t wake them up.

Riku’s phone buzzed in his pocket back in his room, and he looked at the screen.

**2 New Messages | Disney Dorks**

**Kairi** |01:43|

Image1.jpg

**Kairi** |01:43|

What cuties!!!!!!!!!

“I’m _back,”_ Kairi announced, jumping on to the bed.  
“You didn’t wake them up?”  
“Of course not. I’m just that good.” Kairi would never admit that she was a competitive person, but she was. Riku wasn’t sure if she’d _ever_ turned down a dare he’d given her; even when he’d dared her to replace her mom’s toothpaste with mayonnaise or stand on her head for five minutes.

“Alright, alright. Don’t get cocky. It’s your turn.”

“Truth or dare?”  
Riku could play at this game. “Dare.”  
“Atta boy. I dare you to text Sora.”

_Wait, what?_

Riku had only texted Sora twice in the past week: once to let him know that he was waiting outside of the bathroom at Epcot, and a second time to let him know they were out of hot chocolate in the dining hall.

“He’s probably not even awake, Kairi.”  
“Won’t know unless you try, will you?”

Riku sighed, tapping his phone to look at the time. “Kairi, it’s so late.”  
“I guess you’re just chicken, huh?”

Riku rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

**Riku** |01:54|  
  
You awake?  
  


__________________________________

It had been three straight hours of distracting thoughts and butterflies in his stomach, and now Sora had resorted to suffocating himself with his pillow. Maybe if he denied himself of oxygen long enough, these thoughts about Riku would stop.

_I’d love to make you mine._

Sora groaned, pushing his face further into the cotton.

_No more crying. I’m here now, baby._

Stupid Riku. Stupid fucking Riku with his stupid fucking face and his stupid fucking voice and his stupid fucking arms…

_You want me to keep fucking you slow like this?_

Sora stifled a moan. Shit.

Shit, fuck.

Sora pressed his hips into the mattress, attempting to suppress his arousal.  
 _This is pathetic._ His room was dark, the only light coming from his slightly cracked window. A new light near the door caught his attention. He stood and picked up his phone that was charging on his desk.

**1 New Message | Riku**

Sora’s heart quite literally skipped a beat. _Riku! It’s Riku!_

**Riku** |01:54|

You awake?

**Sora** |01:55|  
  
Yes

**Riku** |01:55|

I miss you

**Riku** |01:55|

And I wish you were here

_His misses me. Riku misses me._ Sora couldn’t stop smiling.

**Sora** |01:57|  
  
I miss you too

**Sora** |01:57|

And I wish I was there

**Riku** |01:58|

You shouldn’t have left then

Sora rolled his eyes. Of course he’d give him shit about leaving.

**Sora** |01:58|

I can come back

**Riku** |01:58|

No, Kairi’s here tonight

**Sora** |01:59|

Why

**Sora** |01:59|  
  
Is she ok

**Riku** |01:59|

Yeah she’s fine

**Riku** |02:00|

We’re just hanging out

**Riku** |02:00|

Had a few drinks

**Riku** |02:00|  
  
What are you doing? 

__________________________________

Riku wasn’t sure how long he and Kairi laid there, brainstorming about the wedding, reminiscing about their childhood, and talking about Riku’s feelings before Kairi’s eyes started to droop, and her breathing slowed. He’d been texting Sora for almost an hour, and just getting the chance to talk to him about everything and nothing at all was fixing parts of him he didn’t even know were broken.  
“Kairi, you wanna sleep here?” Riku asked, stroking her head.

“Yeah,” she said, moving to get under the covers.

**Sora** |02:51|  
  
Doesn’t this all seem like… really fast to you

**Riku** |02:51|  
  
Yeah

**Riku** |02:51|  
  
It does 

**Sora** |02:52|  
  
My common sense keeps telling me to stop but

**Sora** |02:52|  
  
I can’t stop feeling like I was meant to meet you

**Riku** |02:53|  
  
I get it

**Sora** |02:53|  
  
You feel the same?

**Riku** |02:53|  
  
I do

“Turn out the light,” Kairi said, pointing to the switch by the door. Riku stood and flipped it off, sitting back beside Kairi. “Thanks.”  
“Yeah, babe. Goodnight.”  
“You not going to sleep?” she asked, looking at Riku from over her shoulder.  
“No, not yet. Still talking to Sora.”  
“Mm,” she smiled. “Enjoy your boyfriend.”  
“Be quiet and go to sleep.”

Much like Sora, Kairi was a quick and solid sleeper. Riku had never been a person who could lay down and immediately fall asleep like the two of them were. It hadn’t been five minutes since they’d said goodnight that Kairi was lightly snoring beside him. Riku held his phone in his hands, waiting for Sora’s next message. He was drinking a glass of water when the next two came through, and it almost all came out pouring out of his nose.

___________________________________ 

Talking to Riku hadn’t made Sora’s situation any better. In fact, it only made it worse. An hour later, and he wanted Riku _more_ than before they’d started texting. Sora bit his nails, going back and forth on if he should send the next text he’d typed out or not. Maybe it _was_ Disney, or maybe it was just Riku, or maybe it was Sora being completely infatuated with every single thing about him, but he couldn’t stop the intolerable lust he was feeling. _Fuck it._

 **Sora** |02:57|  
  
I’m still really sad about you leaving but

**Sora** |02:57|  
  
For some reason I can’t stop thinking about you fucking me senseless

_________________________________________

Riku hadn’t been sure before then, but he was _positive_ now that Sora had him wrapped around his finger. Sora had typed out two simple sentences and Riku was already getting hard.

_This boy, I swear._

**Riku** | 02:58|  
  
Sora.

He hoped that his disapproval was evident through text, but he couldn’t really think too much about his tone because he was busy trying to stop from becoming any more turned on. _I could just go take care of it._

He couldn’t _._ Kairi was sleeping right beside him. _Fucking hell Sora._

**Sora** |02:58|  
  
Is Kairi awake?

**Riku** |02:59|  
  
No

**Riku** |02:59|  
  
She fell asleep like 10 min ago 

**Riku** |02:59|  
  
Why

**Sora |** 03:00|

You should call me then

Riku shook his head.

Fucking hell, Sora.

Luckily, Kairi didn’t wake when Riku got out of bed. He shuffled to the bathroom and closed the door, locking it behind him. He sat down on the side of the bathtub, deciding to turn on the exhaust fan _just in case._

**Incoming Call**

**Sora**

“Hello?”  
“Hey.”  
“Hey,” Riku grinned, after hearing Sora’s slightly flustered tone.  
“It’s good to hear your voice.”  
“Sora, I saw you a few hours ago.”

“I know, it’s just… nice to hear it.”

They’d been texting nonstop for an hour and a half, and now that they were physically speaking to each other, it all seemed impossible again. “I need to tell you something,” Riku said, forcing the words out.

“What?”

“I’m sorry.”  
“Why are you sorry?”  
“I didn’t do enough tonight. To help you. I never want to see you cry like that again.”

Sora shook his head. “No, it’s not your fault. I… don’t know what came over me.”  
“It happens, Sora. I just wish you’d _told me_ you were upset.”  
“I didn’t know how to tell you.” _I know the feeling._

Riku tried to remember what Kairi had told him. If he could speak so well at nine years old, he could figure out how to talk to Sora now. “Sora- “

“I don’t want you to leave,” Sora said. “I don’t want you to go home and forget all about me.”  
“I’m not going to forget about you, Sora.”

“But…”  
“I couldn’t forget about you. Even if I wanted to.”   
“Are you sure…?”  
“Yeah,” Riku said, picking at a piece of string on his pajamas. “I’m sure.”  
“How can you be so sure?” Sora was swallowing the lump in his throat, refusing to cry over Riku for the second time tonight.

Riku tried to think about the best way to explain it to him. “You occupy every single one of my thoughts, Sora. From the second I wake up to my last blink before I sleep, it’s always you.”  
“Riku…”  
“I don’t know how to make it stop,” he admitted then, his chest feeling tight.  
“Do you want it to stop?”  
“I really, really don’t.”

“Oh.”

The silence was heavy but not uncomfortable. He could have told him there. He could have spilled his entire soul over that line, telling Sora about how he makes him feel like the luckiest man alive, but he didn’t. At the very least, Sora deserved to hear it in person.

“This trip was supposed to be about celebrating Kairi finding love. I never wanted to make it all about me, but I feel like that’s exactly what’s happening,” Riku said.  
“She doesn’t feel that way.”  
“How do you know?”  
“I know. If she truly didn’t want this, she never would have invited me anywhere. I haven’t known her very long, but… Kairi seems to be a very trustworthy person.”  
Riku nodded, thinking about her sleeping peacefully in the next room. “She is. Really. She’s never let me down.”

“Why did Kairi come over?”  
“Oh, we were just hanging out. We had some drinks. Ate some of the snacks we bought at Epcot.”

 _And we were talking about my kaleidoscope of feelings for you._ Riku moved the phone to the other ear. “Don’t you have to be up early tomorrow?”  
“Yeah. I’m working first shift.”  
“Here, right? At the resort?”  
“Uh-huh.”

“Is that what you wanted to do? When you originally got hired?” Riku didn’t intend on asking him that question, but at this point he just wanted to keep talking to Sora. He didn’t care what about.

“Hmm… I don’t know if I had a job in mind when I came here. Some of them are pretty cool, though. Like the people who get to play the princesses.”

“Yeah, that would be an interesting job to have.” Riku couldn’t really see the appeal in dealing with screaming toddlers and Disney-obsessed adults all day, but sure.

“I’m kind of jealous of them,” Sora said, rolling on to his back.  
“Of the princesses?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Why?”  
“They’re so pretty. I love the way they talk, the way they act. Have you seen their signatures? It’s immaculate.” He sighed. “I wish _I_ could be a princess.” 

“Be a princess, then.”  
“I can’t. They won’t let boys be princesses.”  
Riku wasn’t sure where his next response came from, or what possessed him to say it, but he answered: “You could be _my_ princess. Would you like that?” 

Sora faltered. Part of him kind of _would,_ but he still said: “No, t-that’s okay…” 

“If you’re sure,” Riku grinned. He hoped with every piece of himself that Sora remained part of his life, because learning how to make him squirm had become one of Riku’s most favorite pastimes.

“So, what’s this about me fucking you senseless?”  
“U-uh, I-“  
“What’s got you thinking about that?”

Sora turned his head to stare out the window. The sky was completely clear tonight, despite the storms earlier today. “Dunno. I was just… missing you. Thinking about you.”  
Riku had a choice to make. He could ignore Sora’s comment, or he could take it into another direction entirely. He had never felt so comfortable around Sora as he did tonight, and _nothing_ they had done in the past week made any sense, so he decided to turn it a full 180.

“Thinking about me? Or thinking about my cock?”

 _“Riku-!”_ Sora was _sweating._

“Well, which one is it?”  
Sora groaned. “Riku…”  
“Come on, Sora.”  
 _“You.”_  
Riku tsked. “You know, somehow, I just don’t think that’s true.” For the first time since he’d returned to his room, Sora was so glad that Riku couldn’t see his face.

“Have you been touching yourself?”  
 _“No,”_ Sora insisted. “I haven’t.” _Honestly, Riku…_  
“Did you want to?”

 _Yes,_ he thought. _I do._ “We can’t keep doing this drunk,” Sora said.  
“I’m not drunk. I had one drink.”  
“Oh.”  
“And you know I’d fuck you sober, Sora.”

Riku had done this over the phone only once before. He was still in high school then, and the interaction was chaotic, and they were both inexperienced, nervous wrecks. But he knew what he was doing now. He’d had enough practice in the last few days memorizing the way that Sora worked to know just what to say to get to him.  
“What do you want, Sora?” 

“I don’t… know what to do…”

“Why don’t you start by touching that pretty little hole of yours?”

Sora had the phone resting on the pillow beside his ear, which was a good thing because both of his hands flew up to cover his face. Sora fucking _mewled._

Riku rested his elbows on his knees, letting his head fall. “Sora. Don’t be embarrassed.”  
“I _am_ embarrassed,” Sora responded, pushing the palms of his hands into his cheeks.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. It’s just me. Don’t you trust me?”  
“…yes.”  
“Then listen and start touching.”

Sora considered this. A hesitant hand worked its way under the elastic of his underwear. “Fine.”  
Riku cursed. “I forgot, you probably don’t have anything to help you out, do you? No lube?”  
Sora grazed his hand along the bottom of his belly and the inside of his thigh, feeling the obscene amount of pre-cum there. “Uh, no, but… I-I think I’m wet enough.”  
 _Fuck._ Riku sucked in a breath through his teeth. _Keep it together._ “Just how long have you been thinking about me, Sora?”  
“… a while.”

Sora remembered the way that Riku’s skillful fingers had prepared him the other night, and the memory made his insides burn. He started to push one coated finger past the ring of muscle, seething at the sensation. _“Ah-“  
_ Riku blinked. _Is he actually doing it?_ “Sora, talk to me.”

Sora replied with a small cry, involuntarily bucking his hips up when he couldn’t push in anymore. “I… I-I did it,” he said, overwhelmed, tears pooling in his eyes.  
Sora’s breath was _so_ clipped, and Riku was getting _so_ fucking hard.  
“Such a good listener,” Riku praised. “I bet you wish those were my fingers, don’t you, baby?”

“Y-yeah. I don’t like it, Riku.”  
“You can do it. Pretend it’s me, Sora. Can you do that?”  
“I… can try.” Sora hiccupped, not wanting to disappoint.

Sora crumbled to pieces in a myriad of different ways. Riku could say with absolute certainty at this point, that no matter what state Sora fell apart in, it was a beautiful sight. He was such a pretty crier. What a delightful mess he became under Riku’s command.

After two, Sora was steadily weeping. Riku's dick was uncomfortably pressing against his pajama bottoms, and Sora was almost painfully hard.

“I don’t, I don’t want to do this anymore- I need to touch my-“ Riku stopped him.  
“Don’t touch yourself until I tell you to. Understand?”  
Sora didn’t want to listen, but Riku’s tone was telling him to do as he was told. “Yes.”

The pleasure was too much. Between Riku’s skillful instruction and Sora’s fingers hooked inside of him, he was delirious. He tried to create a steady pace, moving in and out.

Sora’s pitiful moans were _killing_ Riku. He couldn’t take it anymore. Riku held the phone to his shoulder, pulling his pajama bottoms down to his ankles so that he could take his own length in his hand.

Riku took the first few pumps to spread the pre-cum dripping from the head over himself. Sora cried out, and Riku groaned back. Riku tried to put just the right amount of pressure to resemble Sora- the way he’d felt the other night when he was buried inside of him.

 _I can’t believe we’re actually doing this._ Sora, as it turns out, was full of surprises.

He was crying again. But this was a completely different kind of crying altogether. “Sora, use your words. Come on.”  
“I need you, Riku… I _need you.”  
_ “I’m right here.”  
“No… I need you, here… I need you inside me…”  
Riku let out a heavy breath he didn’t know he was holding. Sora sounded so _small._ Riku was dying to crawl over his tiny body and demolish it. “Hey, hey. None of that. No crying. You can do it. I’m gonna guide you through it.”  
“R-Riku…”  
“Come on. One more. It’s okay.”  
“Riku, I… I can’t… I _can’t_ …”  
“Sora. I need you to try.”  
Sora sobbed, not out of pain this time, but a strange mixture of pleasure and desperation, a third and final finger joining the others. “Ah, I-“  
“Go slow. Take your time. You took my dick, didn’t you? You can do this.”  
“Riku… Riku…”  
Sora finally met resistance, choking out a cry. “Okay.”  
“Did you get it?”  
“Y-yeah… I’m full, Riku.”

Riku struggled to keep his composure. He loosened his grip on his own dick before he lost it altogether. “G-good job. I knew you could do it. You gonna start fucking yourself for me?”  
“Yeah…” Sora moved in and out, stretching himself, rubbing inside. “Ah, _Riku.“_  
“That’s it, princess,” Riku cooed, gently stroking his own length. 

_“Hah-“_ Sora’s stomach _jumped,_ and he roughly pushed his hips down on to his fingers.

Riku smiled. “Oh, I see. You _do_ want me to call you princess.”

“N-no, I.. I, I don’t- _ah-“_

“I bet your little cheeks are so red right now, aren’t they?”

“Riku, stop…”

Riku had always been like this. It was his singular redeeming quality, when it came to relationships and lovers. He never had the words to say about love, or feelings, but when it came to sex? He knew what he was doing.  
He always knew what to say.

Sora’s chosen petname, though, was new. He could work with it. Anything that added to Sora’s already dainty persona only turned him on more.

“God damn it, Sora. You can’t keep doing this to me.”  
“D-doing what?”

Riku shook his head, losing the stamina to keep talking to him. “Pick up the pace, Sora. I know you’d rather be fucked hard.”

“Riku, _please…_ I need _you_ to fuck me. _”_ Sora was practically wailing at this point. Riku absentmindedly hoped he didn’t have roommates.  
“You keep doing that, baby. You pretend that it’s me that’s fucking that pretty hole, alright?” Riku let his legs fall open, hair falling in front of his eyes.

“I need to… Riku- I need to touch, please.”

Riku smirked, loving the dripping desperation in his voice. “Do you?”

“Riku, _please-“_  
“You can touch. Go ahead.”  
“Th-thank you.”  
“Tell me how it feels, baby.”

“It’s- ah, it’s-“  
“Come on. Talk to me.”  
“… not… as good as you, ‘ku.”

“I know, Sora. Nobody can fuck you like me, isn’t that right?”  
“N-no… you’re… _ah-_ I only want you.”

Riku wasn’t sure he’d ever been so attracted to someone in his entire life. He was beating himself up for letting Sora go back to his dorm. Riku didn’t mean to moan, but the idea of Sora spread out in his bed, getting off on the _thought_ of Riku fucking him forced the sound out.

The sound was melodic to Sora. “A-are… are _you_ touching… Riku?”  
“Yes, I am.”  
“Oh,” Sora panted.  
“I had to, I got so hard just _thinking_ about fucking you, princess.”

“Ah, _Riku,”_ Sora begged. “ _Need you.”_  
“I know, and I’m all ready for you. I wish I could be there right now be inside of you, but you’re just gonna have to use your imagination, okay?”  
“Don’t wanna,” Sora whined.  
“Oh, Sora. Y-you have such a great imagination. I know you can pretend that my cock’s filling you.”

Riku was teasing him _so much_ tonight, and Sora couldn’t take it. His toes were going to be permanently curled into the sheets before the night was over. Every time he took that fucking tone with him or called him _baby_ or fucking _princess_ Sora was sure he was going to cum right then and there.

Riku felt the same way. He was breathless, and Sora was _moaning_ directly into his ear, and the shirt he had his head tilted into smelled just like him, and it was all too much. “Sora, I’m-“  
Riku spilled into his own hand, the excess falling to the floor around his feet. “Fuck.”

Mousekeeping didn’t get paid enough to deal with this shit.

“Riku, I need… I have to… _hah-_ I need to _cum,_ Riku…“  
Riku didn’t respond, still lightheaded from his own release. “Hang on,” he said, waiting to regain his balance.  
 _“Riku.”_

“Go ahead, baby.”

Sora leaned his head back, the white-hot orgasm enveloping him, and he painted his chest, still mumbling, _“Riku, Riku, Riku…”_

Sora heaved in a breath, opening his eyes for the first time in almost five minutes. “You okay?” Riku asked, wiping his hand on a clump of toilet paper and then cleaning the floor.  
“Yeah,” Sora responded, still in disbelief over what they’d just done.

“I’m sorry I’m not there to kiss you.”

“Where… _where_ did you learn to talk like that?”  
“It’s easy for me to talk to you like that. It comes naturally.”

Sora smiled. “That was fun.”

“Hm,” Riku grinned. “We should do it again sometime, huh?”  
“Y-yeah,” Sora said.

Riku’s ears weren’t ringing anymore, and now all he could hear was Sora’s ragged breaths, his heartbeat pounding, and the vent in the bathroom. “We have to be up early tomorrow, to start packing.”  
“Yeah. I have to be at the resort by nine.”  
“I guess we should hang up then.”  
“Yeah. I guess so,” Sora frowned. “But I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”  
“Me either.”  
“Will I see you after work?”  
“Yeah. I’m not sure what time we’re going to the park, but I’ll ask Kairi when she gets up.”

“Okay.”

It was quiet for a beat, and Riku thought he might have hung up. Looking at the screen, he had not. “Go to bed, Sora.”  
Sora pouted, even though Riku couldn’t see him. “I can’t. It’s hard to sleep without you.”  
“Oh, you poor thing,” Riku chided.

“Just stay here. On the phone.”  
“While you sleep?”  
“Yeah.”  
Riku laughed, standing up from where he had been sitting. “Okay. I’m going to lay back down with Kairi. But I’ll hear you if you need me.”  
“Okay. Goodnight.”  
“Goodnight, Sora.”

The air outside of the bathroom was at least ten degrees colder; so soothing on Riku’s flushed cheeks. Kairi was still wrapped up in the blanket, and all he could really make out from his side of the bed was her bun up on the top of her head. He held the phone to his ear with one hand and moved the blanket back with the other.

Kairi stirred, whining at the dip in the bed.

 _“Riku,”_ she murmured.  
“Go back to sleep,” Riku whispered, brushing her bangs away from her eyes. Kairi nodded, and Sora felt like he was _drowning_ in Riku’s soft, comforting voice. He tried not to become too distracted by the memory of Riku’s thumb brushing his cheek while he fell asleep.

Sora was awake for a good thirty minutes after Riku fell asleep, Kairi’s head tucked underneath his chin. It was nearing four-thirty in the morning, and he _wanted_ to sleep, but his head was screaming _Riku Riku Riku Riku Riku._

Sora felt like his heart was going to explode in his chest. It was too soon. Really, completely, honestly too soon. In every sense of the word, every meaning of the phrase, too soon.  
But in that moment, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Riku,” he mumbled. “Love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, NEXT update is the last one, I swear. 
> 
> Visit me on Tumblr @sunshinesoraa <3


	9. Day Seven | A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here we go. Last two chapters.  
> I’m so incredibly sorry that it took me so long to get these last two up. Life kind of came crashing in, and I’ve been distracted the few months. I fell in love!  
> Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU to @vani-e and @moyashipon for drawing art for these last two! It means so much to me, you’ll never know.  
> Find these incredibly artists here, and here:  
> @vani-e on Tumblr  
> @moyashipon on DeviantArt
> 
> As always, I love y'all. Here we go.

**Day Seven  
A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow**

By the time Riku had turned eight, he had pretty much accepted that his life was unpredictable. He had planned everything out. He knew how his life was supposed to go. He was going to graduate high school with honors. He’d go to college and get a degree and a high paying job. He’d meet a girl and fall in love with her. They’d get married and have 2.5 kids and a dog. Every day would be just like the last one. Predictable. Steady. Manageable.

Then, the morning after his seventh birthday, his father left and never came back. He and his mother uprooted from their home and moved closer to the middle of the island, where Kairi lived. Riku started at a new school, had to make all new friends, and for two years, his grades plummeted. He got older and realized that he didn’t even _like_ girls the way that every other boy his age did. Riku planned for nothing. He expected nothing. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to. The longer he lived, the more he found that to be a common truth: life, inevitably, never turns out the way you expect it to. It wasn’t until now, that he was learning that wasn’t always a bad thing.

Quickly, silently, overnight, rolling in like a snowstorm that cancelled all the events you didn’t want to go to; forced you to stay home and sleep in, and admire the beauty of the world around you: Sora came, and in the span of seven days, he had changed everything. Riku laid in bed on the last morning, heavy with desire for spiky brown hair and childish giggles, realizing that he would never be the same.

Despite that, when Riku woke up that morning, he just felt _better_. Sora had disconnected from their call almost three hours ago. He was painfully reminded by the pit in his stomach that today was the day; he had to tell Sora how he felt. But after talking with him last night, and spending some much-needed time with Kairi, he felt better about it.

Kairi was scrolling through her phone when he opened his eyes. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

“Morning,” he said, voice still raspy from sleep. “What are you doing?”  
“Checking in for our flight,” she said. “I sent you your boarding pass.” Those simple words were like arrows through his heart. _Right. That’s today._ He understood Sora’s pain now. He got it. Crystal clear.

Two texts came through from Sora.

**Sora** |09:42|

I’m working up front today

**Sora** |09:42|

Come by when you get a sec

**Riku** |09:43|  
Ok. I’m gonna start packing

**Sora** |09:45|

:(

“Better get started…” Kairi said, standing up. “…packing. We have to be out by eleven.”  
“Oh,” was all Riku could say.

“You alright?” Kairi asked, and he knew exactly what she meant from that one phrase.  
“Yeah,” Riku assured her. “I’m alright.”

Riku picked up handfuls of clothing, raking in socks, and underwear and shirts that smelled of Sora. Packing his suitcase was so much sadder than he’d ever anticipated it would be. He’d heard about Post Disney Depression, but this was something different altogether. Kairi had returned back to her room, so now he was just alone with his thoughts. _Tonight. It has to be tonight._

Riku’s stomach felt nauseous, like before he’d gotten on Expedition Everest, or the sinking feeling you get when the plane starts descending. Sora’s necklace was sitting on the table, a reminder of everything he had left to tell him. Sora would be the death of him. Riku yawned, eyes still heavy with fatigue. It didn’t help that he was _exhausted,_ which he assumed Sora was, too. Riku picked up the necklace and held it up to his mouth, pressing a kiss against the silver chain.

_Tonight._

_It had to be tonight._

Sora was exhausted. He’d woken up late, and barely made it to work on time, clocking in a mere seconds before he would have been considered late. Sora shoved his bag inside his locker, attaching his badge to the front of his shirt. He’d slept less than two hours last night, spending most of it lying awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to Riku’s quiet breathing. Drained and emotional were two things he knew did not sit well together, so he silently prayed he’d make it through today. “Morning, Sora,” one of his co-workers greeted, closing their locker. “Morning,” Sora responded, forced to pull himself out of the haze. Then Sora’s phone rang.

 _Fuck. Fucking shit. God damn it._ He’d forgotten it was Friday: the day Sora had a video call with his brothers. It was too late to fix his appearance; he was just going to have to grin and bear it. He sat down at the small table in the break room, propping his phone up on a stack of maps. He pressed the green button, and Roxas and Ventus were there, eagerly waiting to talk to their brother.

“Hey, guys,” Sora said, forcing out a smile.

 _“Whoa_ , Sora, what the fuck happened to you?” Roxas asked, fighting for room on the screen beside Ventus.  
“What are you talking about?” Sora asked, resting his chin on top of his cup, fighting the urge to close his eyes.  
“You don’t look so good,” Ven told him, concern written all over his face. “Are you sick?”

“I’m _fine,”_ Sora mumbled back. “Just didn’t sleep last night.”  
Roxas and Ven exchanged skeptical looks. _“Sora,”_ Ven drawled, tilting his head. “Come on. Tell me.”  
Sora sighed, sitting back in the chair. “I’ve had a long week.”  
“What happened?”  
“I… met someone.”

Roxas pushed Ventus out of the frame. _“What?_ Who? What did he do to you?”  
Sora tried to bite back the smile stretching on to his face, but he couldn’t. “Nothing. He’s perfect. His name is Riku.”  
“Oh my God,” Ven grinned, pushing Roxas back. “You’re in love with him.”  
“I’m not _in love with him,”_ Sora said. “We just met on _Saturday.”_

“Look at him, Rox. He’s so smitten.”  
“They grow up so fast,” Roxas nodded.

 _“Ugh,”_ Sora slumped down in his chair.

This was going to be a very, very long day.

Riku, Kairi, Naminé, and Xion brought their bags down to the front at eleven sharp. Closing the door to the room was hard. Riku found himself wavering in the doorway longer than he’d meant to, wanting to hold on to every last fleeting piece of Sora. He ran a hand along the doorframe, before Kairi placed a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go,” she said, and Riku pulled the door closed.

They left their bags up front, storing them in the back until it was time to go to the airport. Kairi’s plan for the day consisted of them traveling to the Boardwalk, eating lunch, and just taking it easy. Not that Riku would be able to relax in the first place. Riku went to go and see Sora before they left for the Boardwalk. Kairi waved to him from across the lobby, before the three girls walked out of the double doors to the bus stop. It was a slow day, so Sora was just organizing boxes of MagicBands. Riku loved the way Sora’s expression lit up when he saw him.

“Hey,” Riku said, leaning against the counter. “I missed you last night.”  
Sora yawned, nodding. “I missed you, too. I didn’t expect to see you until later.”  
“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. We’re going to Magic Kingdom later.”  
“That’ll be nice,” Sora said, stacking two boxes on top of each other, not catching Riku’s hint in the slightest.

“I want you to come see the fireworks with us tonight.”

Sora’s first reaction was to shake his head ‘no.’ _That’ll only make this harder,_ he thought. _So much harder._ It was a miniscule shake of his head, but still a declination, nonetheless. Sora didn’t want to say no, Riku could see it in his face. He also wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen someone look so solemn.  
“I… don’t think I can,” Sora murmured.  
“Please come see the fireworks with us, Sora. What time do you get off?”  
He blinked, wiping dust off the counter with his hand. “Six.”  
“See, that’s perfect. So, you’ll come? I’ll come back to get you at six?”

Sora bit back a smile. _Come get you at six. Like a date._

“Alright. What time does your flight leave tonight?”

“One-thirty in the morning. All the other flights were booked.”

“Good.”  
“Good?” Riku asked, and Sora walked around the counter to stand in front of Riku. He barely made it up to his shoulders.  
“Yeah. More time,” Sora responded, kicking his leg back and forth. “I’m not ready.”  
Riku offered him a bit of comfort in the form of a light kiss, meant to be more understanding than romantic. Sora’s face still turned a whole shade redder, anyway. “I’m _working,”_ Sora scolded, still just inches from Riku’s face.

“Sorry,” Riku apologized, giving Sora one more small peck on the lips. “I’ll see you soon.”  
Sora only nodded, wanting nothing more to follow Riku as he walked back towards the doors. Sora had developed a refractory habit of wanting to follow him everywhere; he wanted to be by his side, always. He wanted to try again. He needed Riku to know before he left. Tonight, he would tell him. He’d tell him how he felt.

_Tonight._

_It has to be tonight._

Sora left his uniform inside of his locker, changing into a spare set of clothes he’d left in there. He shook his hair out, letting a heavy sigh out into the full-length mirror behind the breakroom door. He knew it didn’t matter how long he stood there, looking at his appearance, he’d never look good enough to go on a _date_ with _Riku._ Riku picked him up right at six, just like he’d promised. Sora wasted no time taking Riku’s hand, melting a little when Riku rubbed small circles into his thumb. He’d miss this. Fuck, he’d miss _everything._

He’d miss Xion poking him in the shoulder just to stick her tongue out at him and make some stupid joke. He’d miss Naminé, urging bites of food into his mouth even though he’d already told her he couldn’t eat anymore. He’d miss Kairi grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him behind her, urging him to get on a ride when the fireworks were supposed to start any minute.

“Look! The line for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train is so short! We have to go!”  
“Kairi, we’ll miss the fireworks-“ Riku pleaded.

“Riku, this is a _once in a lifetime opportunity._ It’s _never_ this short.”

“Kairi…” Riku was trying to communicate with her through facial expressions, but it wasn’t working.  
“You guys go find a spot! We’ll make it! Hurry! Go!” Kairi waved them off with her hand, and then they were gone, navigating through the queue.  
“They’re ridiculous,” Riku groaned, walking Sora through the remainder of Fantasyland.

Riku held Sora’s hand tightly. He was sure as hell not about to lose him in this crowd. Sora scanned Riku’s panicked expression, unable to stop fixating on Riku’s fingers between his own, and he tried to swallow back the pooling tears at the thought _this could be the last time._ Sora tried to comfort himself, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. The very last thing he wanted to do right now, the last time they would be alone, was break down. But Riku was right there, leading him through the multitudes of people, and Sora _needed_ him. They got as close to the front as they possibly could, and Riku shook his head, searching the crowd. “Shit. They’re going to miss it if they don’t hurry up. I told them not to get in that line.”

Sora tugged on Riku’s hand. “Riku.”  
“Huh?” He looked down to the smaller boy, whose bottom lip was sticking out, the saddest expression painted on his face. Riku’s tense demeanor melted, his face becoming soft. “Sora, hey...” Sora took a few hesitant steps forward. “Come here.” Sora launched towards him, pressing his face into Riku’s shirt. He trembled. Riku wrapped his arms around Sora’s shoulders. “What’s the matter? The crowd?” Riku asked gently.

Sora shook his head. “I’m sad.”  
“’S alright. I’ve got you. I’m here.”

“Not for long.”  
“We still have time, baby. None of that right now.” Sora was creating a throbbing sensation in Riku’s chest, and the necklace was burning a hole in his pocket, and Sora was _so_ fragile, _so_ endearing, and Riku wanted Sora to feel the same searing adoration, even if his heart was breaking. “What do you need? Need me to keep holding you?”

“Yeah,” Sora said. “Keep holding me.”

Riku adjusted Sora in his arms so he was resting his cheek on Riku’s chest. “I hope they don’t miss it,” Riku said. “Kairi would be so upset.”  
“They’ll make it,” Sora said. “I’m sure they will.”

But they almost didn’t. They were _running_ off of Seven Dwarves Mine Train when the fireworks monologue started. Kairi was holding both Xion and Naminè’s hands, dragging them through Fantasyland. “Did they say where they were?” Xion asked.  
“No. We’ll just have to find them,” Kairi said, ignoring her sock that was slipping down into her shoe. The voice rang through the various intercoms throughout the park.

_And they all lived happily ever after.  
Each of us has a dream, a heart’s desire.  
It calls to us. _

_And when we’re brave enough to listen and bold enough to pursue,_

_That dream will lead us on a journey to discover who we’re meant to be._

_All we have to do is look inside our hearts and unlock the magic within._

The first set of fireworks started, and Kairi cursed under her breath. “Riku is going to _kill us,”_ she told them.

“There,” Naminé pointed, and sure enough, there they were. Kairi tilted her head, watching Riku, holding Sora so tightly to his side, it almost looked painful. Sora was leaned into him, and Riku was running a hand up and down Sora’s arm.  
“Wait,” Kairi said, holding her arms out, blocking Naminé and Xion. “Let’s just stay here.”

“Huh?” Xion stood up on her tiptoes, looking over a man with a toddler on his shoulders, and then nodded at Kairi, upon seeing the two boys. Naminé looked at the two of them in agreement.  
________________________________________

_And so, our journey comes to an end.  
But yours continues on.  
Grab ahold of your dreams and make them come true. _

_For you are the key to unlocking your own magic.  
Now go. Let your dreams guide you. _

_Reach out and find your happily ever after._

Sora pulled back from Riku’s arms, ignoring the tears spilling from his eyes. He started to say “Riku,” at the same time Riku said, “Sora.”  
“Riku, I…”  
“No,” Riku shook his head, wiping at Sora’s tears. “I need to tell you something.”

Sora was barely breathing, hanging on every word Riku said.

“Here,” Riku pulled the necklace out of his pocket, placing it in Sora’s palm.  
“What’s this?” Sora asked, opening his hand, mouth falling open to say more, but nothing coming out but, “Riku…”

“I didn’t know if you’d like it, but… I wanted to get you something.” Sora held the necklace in a fist to his chest. “Look, Sora, I…I don’t know a lot about the future. I don’t know what it holds for me, or you, and most of the time, my life is a complete mystery to me.” Sora’s eyes were so wide, so blue, so shiny from both the tears and the fireworks. Riku took the hand that wasn’t holding the necklace. “But the only thing that _do_ know about my life right now is that I want you in it.”  
“R-Riku, what are you saying…?”  
“I don’t _want_ to forget about you. I don’t _want_ to leave you. If I had the choice to stay, _I would._ Sora, I…,” Riku took both of Sora’s hands now, Sora’s eyes widening at the way he was trembling. “Sora, I _like you_. I like you _too much_.”  
“Riku…”  
“Please… let me make you mine.”

Sora blinked rapidly, his mind trying to catch up with his heart. He attempted words but stumbled over them. “B-but… what if all of this… it’s just Disney magic?”

Riku shook his head, smitten with Sora’s innocence. “It’s not Disney that’s magic, Sora. You are.” Tears poured down Sora’s face as he let out a broken laugh, giving Riku the biggest smile.

The first time Riku saw the fireworks as a kid, someone proposed in front of the castle. He remembered pulling on his mom’s shirt, and pointing, making a gagging noise and sticking his tongue out. But he got it. He understood it all now. It had really, in every sense of the word, been a _magical_ week, and there was nothing left for him to think to do other than pull Sora in by the waist, the two of them hovering nervously in the small space between their faces, Sora staring into Riku’s eyes and then back down at his mouth, before Riku leaned in and closed the gap between them, heart _aching_ at the feeling of Sora’s soft lips on his own. 

Sora wrapped his arms around Riku’s neck, the necklace still held tightly in his fist, and Riku only tightened his grip on him, deepening the kiss in the most tender way he could. He cradled the back of Sora’s head, combing his hand through Sora’s soft, unruly hair. Despite how loud it was, Riku could hear nothing. Sora was taking up every single one of his senses.

Riku was the first one to pull back, Sora grinning at him, and Riku started to speak before Sora pushed his head into Riku’s shoulder. Riku continued to hold him by the waist, letting his face fall into Sora’s neck. “Sora,” Riku breathed, wonderstruck.

“I’m yours,” Sora mumbled, words sounding like more of a sob than a phrase. “I’m all yours.”

Turning to leave, they came face to face with Kairi, Naminé, and Xion. “You guys! You missed the fireworks.”  
“No we didn’t,” Kairi was grinning, ear-to-ear. “We were right here.”

Riku pulled Sora in closer to his side, and Sora blushed, hiding his face in Riku’s shirt.

_The Magic Kingdom is a place where the young, and the young at heart: a special place, that when you wish upon a star, your dreams will come true. Until we see you again, have a safe trip home._

_Thank you, and goodnight._

“Riku, listen. It’s Mickey!”

_So long, everybody! See ya real soon!_

__

**R** iku wasn’t going to be able to get the chance to say goodbye to Sora because they would not let him go. _“Sora,”_ Kairi cried. “Promise you’ll come to the wedding.”  
“I promise,” he said, giving her a tight hug. “I can’t wait. You’re going to be beautiful.”

“Come early. Riku needs someone to calm his nerves.”   
“Don’t worry, Kairi.”

He pointed a finger at Xion. “Behave, okay?”

“Like I ever _misbehave?”_ she smiled, putting a hand on her hip.

“Bye, Sora,” Naminé wrapped her arms around his neck. “It was so nice to get to meet you.”  
“You too. I’ll see you soon. Let me know if you need more advice about wedding decorations, alright?”

Kairi ushered them away, after seeing Riku standing by. “Come on, guys,” she instructed.

Sora could be so incredibly fragile sometimes. He would protect him, no matter what.

Riku stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Sora’s waist.

“I wish you could stay,” Sora cried.

“I do, too. But Kairi’s wedding is so close.”

“I know.”  
“You’re coming, right?” Riku asked, brushing Sora’s cheek with his thumb.

“Of course I will.”

Sora tried to give him a smile, but it turned into a cry, collapsing into Riku’s arms. He and Kairi had already cried the whole way back to the resort. “It’s alright, Sora,” he said, rubbing Sora’s back. “We’re going to talk all the time, right?”

“Y-yeah,” he sniffled. “I know.”  
“And Kairi added you to the group chat. It’s only two weeks. That’s not so long.”  
“Yeah.” Sora hid in the small space between Riku’s arm and his shoulder. “You make me so happy, Riku… please don’t go.”  
“Baby, I _have_ to go. I’m sorry.” Sora shook with silent sobs. “Oh, Sora.”

Riku coaxed Sora up and nudged Sora’s nose with his, Sora practically pliant in his arms. The moment he kissed Sora, he let out a weak sob into his mouth. Riku let Sora cry on his shoulder for a second, trying to memorize the way Sora grabbed at the back of his shirt, the way that Sora smelled like candy and baby powder, the way Sora spoke, the way Sora laughed, the way Sora tasted, the way Sora… Sora…

It was nearing midnight, and it was still balmy outside, and the cicadas were screeching, and Sora was trying to figure out what he could say to make Riku stay. 

The shuttle pulled up to the bus stop, and the crowd standing around them started handing their bags to the driver.

He couldn’t stop kissing Sora. _One more. Just one more._ “Hurry up, or we’re gonna miss our flight!” Xion yelled from the window. Riku placed one last kiss on Sora’s cheek, before letting go of his hand and loading his bag on to the shuttle. He couldn’t look at Sora as he ascended the stairs, because he knew if he did, he wouldn’t get on.

“Hey, Riku?” Sora called. Riku turned, watching as Sora gave him the brightest of smiles, tilting his head, the way that made Riku weak in the knees. 

“See ya real soon!”


	10. Secret Ending

**Secret Ending**

It rained the morning of Kairi’s wedding. The drops pounded into the ocean; shimmering rainbows off the concrete outside the venue. Palm trees swayed in the wind. Luckily, Kairi had opted to have her wedding inside, rather than on the beach. The rooms were filled corner-to-corner with fresh flowers of every kind: roses, hydrangeas, peonies- the fragrance was almost overwhelming, but mostly just intoxicating. The small building they were getting married in beside the beach was made of old wood, which also gave the venue a certain edge; like old books and moss. The storm battered against the worn windows, rocking the panes.

Kairi and Riku had arrived five minutes ago, and Riku was drying off after having run through the torrential downpour with Kairi’s dress bag and his suit in hand. Riku kicked his rain boots off by the door.

“I’m sorry, Kairi,” Riku said. “That it’s raining.”  
“It’s not going to rain all day,” she responded, bright-eyed, closing her umbrella. “Besides, rain on your wedding day is good luck. Didn’t you know?”

“Hm,” Riku smiled, ruffling her hair. “Always the optimist.”

Riku pulled his coat off, hanging it on the rack in the front room. He walked towards the dressing area to set their clothes down, inspecting himself in the mirror.

It had been two whole weeks since the last time he’d seen Sora. He’d left him standing there on the concrete in front of the Pop Century, smiling a broken smile at him, tears he wasn’t sure were specifically happy or sad painting his face.

Kairi adjusted two roses in one of the tall vases. “Oh, Riku, your phone made a noise,” she said, nodding her head towards his coat.  
  


 **Sora** |09:23|

Flight leaving now, see you soon <3

For the past week, Riku had been holding back the insatiable want to tell Sora he loved him. He wasn’t entirely sure when the itch began, but he couldn’t remember a time without it now. It was always in the back of his head. When Sora called him at night to tell him about his day and tell Riku how much he missed him, he felt it. When Sora sent him selfies, when Sora called him crying, when Sora laughed, when Sora did anything at all, Riku wanted to tell him. _I love you._

The feeling was foreign. The time apart had done nothing but make Riku want Sora more. He wanted to cradle him in his arms; hold him tight enough that they became one person. He wanted to kiss Sora’s soft lips again and run his hands through his unruly hair. He wanted to write back, _okay, love you,_ but instead, he just said:

**Riku** |09:25|

Okay, be safe

Kairi did her own hair, as well as Xion and Naminè’s, but still made time to do Riku’s. Xion and Naminé immediately left after being fixed up to begin tying ribbons on chairs. Riku sat in a chair in front of the mirror, watching as Kairi proficiently combed his hair back. “Finally putting the oil in your hair, aren’t you?” she asked.  
“Yes, _mom,”_ he teased.

“Good boy,” Kairi leaned down and placed her chin on Riku’s shoulder. The two of them stared at their reflection in the mirror. “When did we get so old?”  
“We’re twenty-three, Kairi.”  
“We’re _old.”_

“You’re getting married today,” he told her, and she smiled. “Can you believe it?”  
“I know. It’s weird, huh?”  
“Nah. You’ll make a great wife.”  
 _“You’ll_ make a great husband,” she responded. “To someone. Someday.”  
Riku didn’t miss a beat. “To Sora. Someday.”

Kairi kissed Riku’s cheek. “To Sora,” she agreed.

“Kairi?”

“Hmm?”

Riku blinked, turning to look at Kairi out of the corner of his eye. “I love him.”  
“I know you do,” she said. “I know.”

After an hour more of Kairi fixing Riku’s hair until it was perfect, he helped her into her wedding dress. “There’s a tear,” Kairi said, letting the white fabric fall back towards the ground.  
“Sorry, I hope I didn’t do that,” Riku said.  
“I’m sure you didn’t,” Kairi waved him away with her hand.

The train in Kairi’s dress had sustained a small tear in the white lace, and Riku was making quick work of its’ repair with a needle and thread. She stood on a stool, gushing about Sora.

“Kairi, hold still.” Riku held two satin pins between his teeth.  
“I’m sorry! I’m just so excited.”  
“You know, it’s a little strange that you’re more excited to see Sora than you are to get married.”  
“I’ve seen Vanitas every day for the last two weeks. I haven’t seen Sora in almost _three_ weeks _,_ thank you.”

“Turn around. See if that looks good enough.”

Kairi turned back towards the full-length mirror, and Riku bit back a smile. “Kairi. You look beautiful.”

“Shut up, Riku, you’re going to ruin my makeup.”  
“You do. You look beautiful.”

“Hey, _ladies,”_ Xion said, sticking her head into the room. “Someone’s boyfriend has arrived.”

“Naminè’s already here,” Riku responded.

“Very funny. She’s still getting ready.”

“One second,” Riku said, threading another stitch through Kairi’s dress.  
“Fucking- “Xion tore the needle from Riku’s hand. “I’ll handle this. _Go see him.”_

Riku was only wearing his dress shirt and suit pants, opting to slip back into his rain boots instead of going to the trouble of lacing his shoes.

As soon as Riku pushed the large glass doors open, Sora turned on his heel, running towards him. Sora came crashing into Riku so hard they both almost fell on to the concrete. “Whoa,” Riku laughed. “Kairi’ll kill you if you wrinkle this, you know.”  
“Missed you,” Sora murmured, face buried in Riku’s suit. “Missed you so much.”

“I missed _you,”_ Riku said, resting his chin on Sora’s head. “How was your flight?”

“Good. But I need a kiss!”  
“Oh, _sorry_ your highness.”

Sora tilted his head up, eagerly taking Riku’s mouth on to his own. Riku’s heart pulled and tugged, crying out for _more, more, more._ It was just the two of them, standing in the humid post-storm air, just beginning to warm up for another hot summer day. They pulled apart only momentarily to take in heaving breaths, and Riku held Sora’s face in his hands, feeling the hair in front of Sora’s eyes tickling his nose. Sora still tasted the same, like honey and saltwater and Riku couldn’t get enough of it. He would never get tired of kissing Sora.

“Sora!” Kairi was holding the sides of her dress, running through the front doors.  
“Kairi, oh my _God,”_ Sora cried out, running towards her. “Look at you!”  
“You’re going to get your dress all dirty, Kairi!” Riku yelled to them.  
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Kairi said. “It means so much, Sora.”  
“I’m so happy to be here!”  
“Riku’s been completely lost without you,” she told him, straightening his shirt collar.  
Riku shook his head, “No, I have _not!”_

“Okay, well, _I’ve_ been lost without you, too.”

A black sedan pulled up behind the three, and a handful of tall, muscular men stepped out. “’Sup?” Vanitas showed up to his own wedding wearing torn black jeans and a solid black t-shirt. Riku wished he was surprised, but he wasn’t. Riku tightened his grip around Sora’s waist.

“Riku, my man, look at you. Finally settling down, eh?” Axel rubbed his knuckle on the top of Riku’s head.  
“Gah, Axel, stop,” he said, swatting his arm away.

“I’m Axel,” he said, sticking a hand out to Sora. “Got it memorized?”

“Uh, y-yeah, sure,” Sora said, taking Axel’s large hand and shaking it. “Got it.”  
“Good job bagging this one,” he told him, nudging an elbow towards Riku. “He’s a hottie, huh?”  
Sora blushed. “Y-yeah.”

Riku pointed to the door of the building, where a blonde man was carrying a guitar case inside. “The dude with the sitar? That’s Demyx. I’d stay away from him.”  
“Why?” Sora asked. He looked harmless enough. A little strange, a little loud, and his mullet wasn’t necessarily appealing, but he seemed fine.  
“Just… trust me,” Riku assured him. “He’s going to be in charge of the music at the wedding. I think he’s going to be in charge of music at the reception, too?”

“Is he playing the sitar?”  
“Oh, fuck, no. He’s just pressing play.”

“Was he in college with Kairi, too?” Sora asked.  
“Yeah. Dropped out, though. Lived in the fraternity building _way_ longer than he was _actually_ in school.”

“Is that Vanitas?”  
“Hmm? Oh, yeah.” Vanitas was kicking Axel in the ass as the door closed behind them.

“I _do_ look a lot like him.”

“You really think so? I just don’t see it.”

Kairi shrugged, smiling.

There was only fifteen minutes left until the ceremony started. The whole wedding thing had seemed so overrated, but he was unable to control his own daydreams now, imagining Sora with his hair done up, Kairi and the others fawning over him. Sora’s slender fingers with a ring Riku picked out for him. Riku nervously repeating written vows to himself before the ceremony. Sora would be his, forever.  
They could have a bachelor’s party at Disney World.

Do it all over again.

Riku had decided that Sora was his favorite story. He’d repeat it if he could go back. He wanted to read it again and again and again.

“Riku? Can you help me?” Sora asked, turning around to look at him. Riku tore himself from his thoughts.  
“Yeah. Sorry.” Riku moved to roll the lint off of Sora’s back.  
“Whatcha thinking about?” he asked.  
“Mm. Nothing.”  
“Liar,” Sora smiled at him through the mirror.

Riku shook his head. “It’s nothing, really,” he told him, smoothing the fabric on Sora’s shoulders. “Just marrying you.”

“Marrying… me?”

“Um… I-“

Xion burst through the door, throwing her hands down when she saw them standing there. “Come _on._ We’re lining up. Let’s go! Fuck later!”

Riku was an anxious mess as they waited behind the double doors.

_What if I trip on her dress?  
What if I can’t walk at the right pace?  
Everyone’s going to be looking at me.  
Sora’s going to be looking at me. _

“Ready?” Kairi asked, giving him a smile and wrapping her hand around his arm.  
“Yeah,” Riku lied.

The music started. And when Axel and Saix opened the doors, and Riku stepped inside, Kairi and Sora were the only two people in the room that mattered.

Riku hadn’t heard anything about the music. They didn’t include it in the dress rehearsal. But he _knew_ this song. His mom used to play it all the time when he was growing up. But this was a different version all together. This was slow. This was tearing Riku’s heart out.

_Wise men say, only fools rush in_

_But I can’t help falling in love with you_

This was one of those moments where time moved incredibly slowly. Every second felt like ten. Kairi was looking at Vanitas, who was trying not to break down at the sight of her, and Riku… Riku was looking at Sora. He was standing there with his arms crossed, beaming at him. _“So handsome,”_ Sora mouthed, and Riku couldn’t hide his blush this time.

_Like a river flows surely to the sea_

_Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be_

They reached the end of the aisle, and Riku placed Kairi’s hand on Vanitas’. He gripped Kairi’s hand one last time.

“Take care of her.”

Riku left Kairi and walked back down to the first row of seats where Sora was standing, and before Sora could even begin to tease him about crying, he took Sora’s chin and kissed him. Sora’s eyes flew open, surprised.  
 _Sora. I love you. I love you. I love you._

It took Kairi about three whole months to convince Riku to make a speech at the wedding reception. “I’m so shit with words, Kairi,” he’d told her, wrinkling his nose up at the thought of having to spill his feelings in front of a bunch of strangers and frat boys.  
“Riku. Please. You’re the only one who knows me well enough to do it. It would mean so much to me.” Her petite hand wrapped around his, and he bit his lip, avoiding eye contact.

“Fine.”

Riku stepped up to the microphone, running a hand through his hair. “Just to start this off… I’m really bad with words.” Riku reached into his pocket and grabbed the folded piece of notebook paper he’d stored there. “Kairi…” He looked at her, tears already making her eyes appear glossy, and he couldn’t contain the feeling rising in his throat. He set the piece of paper down. “Kairi, you’re my best friend. You’ve been through everything with me and I…” He coughed, trying to swallow down the emotion. Kairi was already holding up a tissue to her eyes. “…I couldn’t imagine having done life with anyone else. I’m so happy for you. I think I love you more than one person can love another… no offense, Vanitas.”  
Vanitas raised a hand in dismissal. “You have given me _everything,_ Kairi. I can’t wait to see you make someone else as happy as you’ve made me. I love you.” He raised his glass. “To Kairi and Vanitas.”  
“To Kairi and Vanitas,” everyone echoed, and Riku blinked the tears out of his eyes, turning away from the microphone. He sat back down at the table, and Sora took his hand.  
“You okay?”  
“Huh? What? Me? I’m fine,” Riku said, turning away from Sora to rub his face.

“Hm,” Sora smiled, kissing Riku on his cheek. “You’re the sweetest, Riku.” 

Riku shrugged, placing a kiss on Sora’s lips. Sora took an obscenely large bite of cake. Riku wiped whipped cream from Sora’s mouth.

“I meant what I said,” Riku told him, brushing Sora’s cheek with his thumb. “She did give me everything. You were the best thing that she gave me, though.” Sora reddened. Riku loved it when he got bashful and tried to hide in Riku’s shirt or push his face into his hands.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we would now like to bring out our newlyweds, for their first dance as husband and wife.”

_Tale as old as time, true as it can be_

_Barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly_

_Just a little change, small to say the least_

_Both a little scared, neither one prepared_

_Beauty and the beast_

Kairi was obviously teasing Vanitas, stroking his cheek while he avoided her gaze. He smiled back at her, and she kissed him in response. Riku looked to Sora, who was sitting at the table with his head in his hands, watching Vanitas and Kairi with stars in his eyes. Riku may have never been a romantic, but Sora _was._ Riku brushed Sora’s hair back from his forehead and placed a kiss there. 

“At this time, we invite any couples who would like to join the newlyweds on the dance floor to do so.”

Sora tensed just slightly as people began to stand, following their significant others out on to the dance floor. His _want_ was palpable.  
Riku stood, holding his hand out to him.

“Do you want to dance?”

“W-what?” Sora looked _so_ hopeful. He turned in his chair to face Riku.  
“Do you want to dance, Sora?”  
“Uh, um- I’ve never slow danced before,” he said, staring down at his lap.

“Me either,” Riku admitted, squatting down in front of Sora’s chair, taking both of his hands. He kissed the tops of Sora’s fingers. “We’ll figure it out together, okay?”

He led Sora out on to the dimly lit floor, taking one of his hands and wrapping the other arm around his waist. Naminé had hung white lights around the perimeter of the dance floor, and it made Sora’s eyes look that much more stunning, and Riku was weak in the knees looking at him.

Naminé was happy crying into Xion’s neck, and Xion gave Riku a thumbs up.

“I hate you have to go back home tomorrow,” Riku said.

“Well, I’m going back to Disney, but I’m not going home.”  
Riku wrinkled his eyebrows. “I don’t understand.”

“This is my home now.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I’ve decided where I’m going to college. Here. With you.”

“Here? But why?”  
“I don’t want to be away from you, Riku. You’re my home.”

 _I love you. I love you. I love you._  
“Sora…” He held Sora’s cheek in one hand, kissing him with such overpowering emotion his throat swelled. Sora tightened his grip on Riku’s waist. They pressed their foreheads together, Sora smiling, and Riku couldn’t look away from him. “Sora.”  
Sora blinked at him curiously, and the words that had been so impossible for so long were now the only thing he could think of to say anymore. “I love you.”

Sora nuzzled into Riku’s chest. “Love you, Riku.”

The day that Kairi told Riku she was getting married, Riku realized that he had never been in love. He had no idea that someone’s life could change so dramatically in the span of three weeks, but _his_ had. And now here he was, holding the sweetest person alive, that he absolutely did not deserve, wondering how he’d ever lived without Sora’s loud, unapologetic laugh and silly squished faces and vivacious personality.

 _What must that be like,_ he’d thought. _To be in love._

Sora lifted his head and placed a kiss on Riku’s jaw line, and Riku tangled his fingers through Sora’s hair. Kairi smiled at the two of them from over Vanitas’ shoulder. Like he’d said before, most things in life, Riku was unsure about.

But he was sure about Sora.

_Kairi._

_I get it now._

_I’m in love, too._

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s a wrap.  
> Again, thank you to @vani-e and @moyashipon for drawing such BEAUTIFUL art for these final two chapters! You can find them here, and here:  
> @vani-e on Tumblr  
> @moyashipon on DeviantArt  
> Go and give these talented artists your undying love.  
> I have met so many wonderful people through this fic and will hold every single one of you who commented, left kudos or just read, forever.  
> A huge thank you to @borndeadd who has encouraged me and loved me and has become such a good friend of mine. And finally to @lovelybrii12, whom I met through this fanfiction, and who has changed my life. When I woke up out of a dead sleep at three in the morning in the middle of July, I never would have guessed that over the next week and a half I would be sitting down to obsessively write a love story I had no idea would soon become eerily similar to my own. I wrote about love when I didn’t have the first clue what it really was. Now I do. I will never be the same. I love you. 
> 
> So, in the wise words of Mickey Mouse:  
> See ya real soon.
> 
> Come visit me on Tumblr @sunshinesoraa <3


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